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mTEROCEA?(IC  CAMLS  AND  RAILROADS 


BETWEEN 


THE  ATLANTIC  AND  PACIFIC  OCEANS. 


BY  REAR-ADMIRAL   CHARLES  H. 'DAVIS, 

SUPERINTENDENT     OF     THE     N^VaL     0  H  3  i.  il  V  A  T  0  U  Y 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 

1867. 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
July  12,  1866. — Eead  aud  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Post  Offices  and  Post  Koads. 

July  26,  1866. — Resolved,  That  two  thousand  five  hundred  extra  copies  of  the  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  interoceauic  railroads  and  canals,  with  the  accompanying  maps, 
be  ijrinted  and  bound  for  the  use  of  the  Senate. 

February  9,  1 867. — Resolved,  That  five  hundred  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  Admiral 
Davis,  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  on  interoceauic  canals  and  railroads,  be  printed  for  the  use 
of  the  Observatory. 

February  28,  1867. — Resolved,  That  five  thousand  additional  copies  of  the  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  interoceauic  canals  and  railroads,  with  an  additional  chart,  be 
printed  and  bound,  of  which  forty-five  hundred  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  and 
five  hundred  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory. 

March  11,  1867. — Resolved,  That  of  the  copies  of  the  rei)ort  of  Admiral  Davis  upon  inter- 
oceanic  railroads  and  canals,  heretofore  ordered  to  be  printed,  three  hi;ndred  be  furnished  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


LETTEE 

OF  THE 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY, 


COMMUNICATING. 


In  compliance  tvith  a  resolution  of  the  \^0i  of  March,  1866,  a  report  of  Rear - 
Admiral  Charles  H.  Davis,  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  in  re- 
lation to  the  various  proposed  lines  for  interoccaiiic  canals  and  railroads  be- 
tween the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacijic  oceans. 


Navy  Department,  July  12,  1866. 
Sir  :  I  liave  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  of  Rear-Admiral  Chas. 
H  Davis,  Superintendent  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  prepared  by  order  of  this 
Department,  and  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  19  th  of  March 
last,  in  relation  to  the  "  various  proposed  lines  for  interoceanic  canals  and  rail- 
roads betweeu  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans." 

The  report,  dated  the  11th  instant,  is  accompanied  by  a  series  of  maps. 
Very  respectfully,  &c., 

'GIDEON  WELLES, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Hon.  L.  F.  S.  Foster, 

President  pro  tern,  of  the  U.  S.  Senate. 


United  States  Naval  Observatory, 

Washington,  July  11,  1866. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  the  Department  a  report  on  interoceanic 
canals  and  railroads  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  in 
compliance  with  your  order  of  March  20,  1866. 
This  report  is  accompanied  by  a  series  of  maps. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Rear- Admiral,  Super intcndait. 
Hon.  Gideon  Welles, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C. 


EEPORT 

OF  THE 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  NAYAL  OBSERYATORY, 


Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  answer  to  Senate  resolution  of  the  19t7i  March,  1866, 
on  interoceanic  canals  and  railroads  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacijic  oceans. 

The  following  report  is  made  under  the  dii-ection  of  the  Hon.  Secretary  of 
tlie  Navy,  in  compliance  with  aresolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
dated  March  19,  1866,  which  resolution  reads  as  follows  : 

^^  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  furnish,  through  a  report  of  the  Superiutend- 
ent  of  the  Naval  Observatory,  the  summit  levels  and  distaoces  by  survey  of  the  various  pro- 
posed lines  for  interoceanic  canals  and  railroads  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans  ;  as,  also,  their  relative  merits  as  practicable  lines  for  the  construction  of  a  ship 
canal,  and  especially  as  relates  to  Honduras,  Tehuantepec,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  and  Atrato 
lines;  and  also  whether,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Superintendent,  the  isthmus  of  Darien  has 
been  satisfactorily  explored ;  and  if  so,  furnish  in  detail,  charts,  plans,  lines  of  levels,  and 
all  information  connected  therewith,  and  upon  what  authority  they  are  based." 

The  object  of  this  inquiry  is  to  collect  and  collateour  existing  information 
concerning  the  several  isthmuses  through  or  over  which  it  has  been  jjroposed 
to  open  a  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  It  is  the 
aim  of  the  Honorable  Senator,  Mr.  Conness,  of  California,  to  acquire  by  the  an- 
swer to  his  resolution,  such  accurate  knowledge  with  regard  to  the  whole  quesr 
tion  as  will,  in  the  first  place,  prevent  the  re-examination  of  any  ground  which 
is  already  sufficiently  known ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  will  prevent  any  useless 
expenditure  of  money  upon  schemes  that  are  infeasible  or  unpromising. 

The  resolution  is  properly  divided  into  two  general  heads,  which  are  again 
subdivided  as  follows  : 

I.  The  consideration  of  the  "various  proposed  lines"  will  include — 
"  Summit  level;" 

"  Distances  by  survey  ;"  and 

"  Their  relative  merits  as  practical  lines  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  ca- 
nal, especially  for  the  Honduras,  Tehuantepec,  Nicaragua,  Panama,  and 
Atrato  routes." 

II.  The  inquiry,  "Has  the  isthmus  of  Darien  been  satisfictorily  explored," 
calls  for — 

"  Charts  ;" 

"  Plans  ;" 

"Lines  of  levels,  and  infoimation  therewith;"   and 

"  Authorities  on  the  whole  subject." 
In  conference  with  the  mover  of  the  resolution,  I  have  ascertained  that  I  shall 
execute  the  task  assigned  me  in  the  most  acceptable  manner,  if  I  confine  myself 
to  a  simple  statement  of  fticts,  avoiding  all  unnecessary  descriptions,  whether 
of  geography,  topography,  or«  natural  history,  all  scientific  details  not  required 
for  a  full  comprehension  of  results,  and  all  merely  speculativ'e  opinions. 

In  truth,  nothing  would  seem  to  be  less  called  for  at  the  present  day  than  a 
renewed  attempt  to  show  by  argument,  whether  based  on  statistical  or  other 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS   AND    CANALS.  5 

considerations,  the  advantages  of  a  suitable  artificial  water  communication 
between  the  two  great  oceans.  This  joroject  has  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
most  eminent  statesmen,  political  economists,  engineers,  and  merchants  of  the 
world,  from  a  period  but  little  subsequent  to  the  discovery  of  this  continent. 
Minds  of  the  largest  comprehension  have  employed  themselves  in  the  contem- 
plation of  the  benefits  that  would  flow  to  mankind  from  the  successful  accom- 
plishment of  this  purpose. 

*By  promoting  intercourse,  and  therefore  peace  and  good. will  among  men,  it 
would  contribute  as  much  to  human  progress  as  any  of  the  leading  discoveries 
of  the  century.  It  is  entitled  to  this  highest  commendation,  that  it  will  elevate 
the  authors  of  its  execution  to  the  rank  of  those  in  history  who  have  deserved, 
most  of  their  fellow-men.  The  ingenious  and  enterprising  thinkers  of  thit-- 
country  and  of  western  Europe  will  never  rest  satisfied  until  this  project  is 
either  carried  out  or  is  shown  by  a  thorough  examiflation,  such  as  leaves  no 
question  unansAvered,  to  be  totally  impracticable.  I  will  so  far  anticipate  the 
conclusions  of  this  report  as  to  say  that  my  study  of  the  subject  rejects  the 
latter  idea. 

With  these  preliminary  remarks,  I  will  enter  at  once  upon  the  business  of  the 
report,  under  the  several  divisions  and  subdivisions  heretofore  enumerated: 

I.  The  various  proposed  lines  for  interoceanic  canals  and.  railroads  and  their 
relative  merits,  viz : 

A.  Tehuantepec ; 

B.  Honduras  ; 

C.  Nicai'agua ; 

D.  Panama; 

E.  Atrato. 

A. — TehuAx\tepec. 

The  attention  of  the  early  discoverers  was  drawn  towards  this  isthmus  by  two 
of  its  features — one,  the  remarkable  depression  of  the  Mexican  plain  at  this 
point,  and  the  other,  the  hydrographic  basin  of  the  Coatzacoalcos,  M'hich  drains 
the  northern  slope  of  the  sunken  Cordillera  and  discharges  itself  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

Mr.'AYilliams,  who  is  our  best  authority  witli  regard  to  this  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, divides  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  into  three  distinct  divisions,  each 
possessing  its  own  characteristic  peculiarities.  The  first,  or  northern  division, 
lying  between  the  Cordilleras  and  the  Gulf,  he  calls  the  Atlantic  plains  ;  the 
second,  or  middle  division,  the  mountainous  district ;  and  the  third,  or  southern 
division,  bordering  on  the  gulf  of  Tehiiantopec,  he  calls  the  Pacific  plains. 

In  the  series  of  maps  appended  to  this  report  (No.  II)  I  have  copied  his  two 
profiles,  one  of  which  extends  from  ocean  to  ocean,  while  the  other  comprises  the 
mountainous  districts  only.  These  maps  contain  in  themselves  all  the  details 
necessary  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  ground.  They  were  prepared,  it 
will  be  remembered,  with  reference  to  a  railroad  project  only.  But  for  many 
years  the  idea  had  been  entertained  of  opening  a  canal  between  the  two 
oceans;  and  this  idea  received  a  sudden  impulse  in  1771,  from  the  unexpected 
discovery  in  the  port  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa  that  some  cannon  cast  at  Manilla  had. 
crossed  the  isthmus  by  the  rivers  Chimalapa  and  Coatzacoalcos.  (Humboldt — 
Essai  Politique.) 

This  discovery  led  to  the  most  extravagant  expectations,  and  gave  rise  to  a 
succession  of  surveys  or  examinations  under  the  governments  of  the  Vice- 
royalty  and  of  the  Republic,  which  surveys  are  of  little  value  at  the  present 
time.  The  really  accurate  and  reliable  surve}'  of  the  isthmus  v/as  made  by  the 
scientific  Commission  under  the  direction  of  Major  (now  Major  General)  J.  G 
Barnard,  United  States  Engineers,  in  1850-'51,  and  it  is  this  which  has  fur- 


b  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS   AND    CANALS. 

nished  us  with  our  profiles.     From  this  survey  we  learn  that  this  route  pos- 
sesses but  little  "  merits  as  a  practicable  line  for  the  construction  ofa  ship  canal." 

B. — Honduras. 

Our  knowledge  of  this  isthmus  is  derived  from  hydrographic,  topographic, 
and  barometrical  survej^s,  instituted  by  the  directors  of  the  British  Honduras 
Interoceanic  Railway  Company,  and  reported  by  the  general  agent  of  the  com* 
pany,  E.  G.  Sqnier,  Esq.,  August  1,  1S5S. 

Since  it  has  never  been  pi-oposed  to  construct  a  canal  on  this  route,  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  speak  of  it  at  length.  The  third  of  the  appended  maps  is 
both  a  map  and  profile  of  the  whole  line  between  the  bay  of  Honduras  and 
the  bay  of  Fonseca.  The  reader  -who  follows  the  course  of  the  surveyors, 
naturalists,  and  geologists* from  the  capacious,  safe,  and  excellent  harbor  of 
Puerto  Caballos  (Fort  Cortes)  through  regions  remarkable  for  their  salubrity, 
fertility,  great  variety  of  climate  and  productions,  and  valviable  mineral  re- 
sources, to  the  waters  of  the  splendid  harbor  of  La  Union,  cannot  but  regret 
that  capitalists  have  not  found  it  to  their  interest  to  carry  out  one  of  the  most 
promising,  and  one  of  the  least  embarrassing,  enterprises  of  the  day. 

But,  so  far  as  concerns  its  relative  "  merit  as  a  practicable  line  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  ship  canal,"  Honduras  is  excluded  from  our  further  consideration. 

C. — Nicaragua. 

There  has  been  a  time  when  the  transit  from  ocean  to  ocean,  on  a  line  fol- 
lowing the  river  San  Juan  del  Norte,  either  in  its  bed  or  on  its  banks,  cross- 
ing Lake  Nicaragua,  and  thence  to  the  Pacific,  has  enjoyed  special  favor  and 
attention.,  From  Greytown  to  the  lake  the  mode  of  proceeding  has  been  the 
same  in  most  of  the  plans.  It  has  included  the  improvement  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  river  San  Juan,  where  possible,  by  excavations  in  its  bed,  and  by 
the  construction  of  dams,  which,  with  the  rapids  of  the  rive^*,  were  to  be  passed 
by  means  of  locks  and  canals.  But,  from  the  lake  to  the  Pacific  outl(*t,  various 
branches  have  been  proposed.  Three  of  these  pass  through  Lake  Managua  ;  a 
fourth  terminate,"?  at  Brito  ;  a  fifth,  at  San  Juan  del  Sur;  a  sixth  proceeds  by  the 
Sapoa  river  to  Salinas  bay;  a  seventh,  keeping  in  the  southern  part  of. the 
State  of  Nicaragua,  proposes  to  cut  from  the  river  San  Juan,  through  the 
State  pf  Costa  Rica,  to  Nicoya  gulf  Only  two  of  these  routes  have  been  care- 
fully surveyed,  those  terminating  in  Brito  and  San  Juan  del  Sur.  • 

There  are  so  many  difficulties  attending  all  these  routes,  which  detract  from 
their  "relative  merits  as  practicable  lines  for  a  ship  canal,"  that  I  should  feel 
authorized,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  pass  over  this  region  in  a  few 
words ;  but  so  much  has  been  said  and  written  about  it  by  eminent  authorities 
that  I  feel  called  upon  to  jDresent  some  descriptive  details. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  have  concurred  to  concentrate  public  opinion  and 
favor  upon  this  route.  I  refer  particularly  to  the  accidental  settlement  of  Grey- 
town  ;  to  the  establishment  of  a  transit  through  Nicaragua ;  the  actual  navigation 
•f  the  San  Juan  river,  and  of  Lake  Nicaragua;  the  connexion  of  eminent  names, 
including  that  of  the  present  French  Emperor;  and  the  agricultural  and  mineral 
wealth  of  the  Chontales  region.  And  to  these  circumstances  may  be  added  the 
advances  seemingly  made  by  nature  in  offering  the  water  communications  of 
San  Juan  and  the  lakes,  which  reduce  the  isthmus  to  one-tgnth  of  its  whole 
breadth.  Extravagant  expectations  have  been  fostered,  and  hasty .  schemes 
have  been  formed,  including  extensive  plans  of  colonization — schcmjs  that 
never  have  reached  maturity. 

The  late  Admiral  Fitz  Roy,  in  the  first  paper  Avhich  he  presented  to  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  on  the  isthmus  of  America,  entered  into  a  careful 
examination  of  this  line  and  its  branches,  and  maturely  considered  the  value  of 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  7 

the  statements  made  by*  its  advocates,  aud  the  feasibility  of  tbe  project  witb 
reference  to  the  natural  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  The  conclusion  at  which 
he  arrived  was  unfavorable. 

I  take  pains  to  cite  the  authority  of  this  distinguished  hydrographer,  because 
it  will  be  received  with  the  highest  respect  by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  his 
useful  labors  ^nd  great  abilities.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  follow  him  over  the 
^ame  ground  ;  to  discuss  the  statements  of  Mr.  Bailey,  or  the  data  of  the  French 
Emperor,  or  to  dwell  upon  the  unfavorable  conditions  arising  from  climate, 
earthquakes,  volclboes,  &c.  I  will  base  what  I  have  to  say  upon  the  report  of 
the  survey  made  by  Messrs.  Childs  and  Fay,  in  the  years  1S50-'51,  for  the 
American  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Ship-Canal  Company. 

The  map  appended  to  this  report,  numbered  IV,  contains  a  profile  of  the  line 
surveyed;  and  this  profile  may  be  regarded  as  a  ty^e  of  the  whole  region,  em- 
bracing all  the  branch  lines  mentioned  above.  It  is  not  at  all  probable  that 
any  other  of  the  proposed  routes  would  find  either  a  lower  summit  level  or  easier 
cuts. 

The  line  selected  by  Colonel  Childs  proceeds  from  Lake  Nicaragua  by  a  short 
and  easy  route  to  the  harbor  of  Brito.  It  traverses  the  lake  directly  to  its  out- 
let at  Port  San  Carlos ;  it  employs  slack-water  navigation  on  the  San  Juan 
river  for  a  distance  exceeding  ninety  miles,  and  then  pursues  a  canal,  inde- 
pendent of  the  river,  to  the  harbor  of  San  Juan  del  Norte.  This  plan  of  opera- 
tion- requires  fourteen  (14)  locks  to  descend  from  the  lake  to  the  Pacific  ocean, 
and  fourteen  (14)  locks  to  descend  from  the  lake  to  the  Caribbean  sea,  in  which 
last  enumeration  are  included  light  locks  at  dams  on  the  San  Juan.  There 
are  seven  (7)  dams  on  the  river.  Costly  improvements,  possessing  the  charac- 
ter of  artificial  harbors,  will  be  necessary  at  the  two  points  of  departure  from 
the  lake.  The  seaports  of  Grey  town  aud  Brito,  at  the  two  ends  of  the  line, 
will  require  costly  and  extensive  improvements  in  the  way  of  excavations,  piers, 
jetties,  breakwaters.  Sec.  The  total  length  of  the  line  is  a  little  more  than  one 
hundred  and  ninety-four  (194)  miles.  It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  no  enter- 
prise, presenting  such  formidable  difficulties,  will  ever  be  undertaken  with  even 
our  present  knowledge  of  the  American  isthmuses.  Still  less  is  it  likely  to  be 
entered  upon  while  such  strong  and  well-founded  hopes  are  entertained  by  the 
promoters-  of  the  union  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  of  finding  elsewhere  a 
very  much  easier,  cheaper,  and  more  practicable  route  for  a  canal,  in  every  way 
suited  to  the  present  demands  of  commerce  and  navigation.  The  relative  merits 
of  the  Nicaragua  route  as  "  a  practicable  line  for  the  construction  of  a  ship- 
canal  "  do  not  require  further  consideration. 

I  have  taken  Cbilds's  survey  as  a  standard.  I  will  therefore  mention  that  it 
is  regarded  by  Squier  aud  other  competent  authorities  as  the  authentic  and  I'e- 
liable  survey  of  the  Nicaragua  route ;  and,  further,  that  in  March,  1852,  his 
drawings,  reports,  and  estimates  were  submitted  to  the  examination  of  Colonels 
Abert  and  Turnbull,  United  States  engineers.  Squier's  language  in  regard  to 
the  survey  is  very  emphatic ;  he  says,  "  Childs's  survey  is  the  only  one  to  be 
accepted  as  conforming  to  modern  engineering  requirements."  Childs's  report 
was  further  submitted  by  the  Earls  of  Malmesbury  to  Englislf  engineers,  who 
also  questioned  its  author  personally.  They  reported  that,  "  presuming  Colonel 
Childs's  data  aud  statements  to  be  correct,  the  harbor  of  Brito  is,  in  size  and 
shape,  unworthy  of  j^his  great  ship  navigation." 

CHIRIQUI. 

The  next  line  in  the  order  of  our  enumeration  is  Panama ;  but  there  lies  be- 
tween Nicaragua  and  Panama  another  isthmus  which  has  been  thought  of  more 
than  once  as  a  convenient  place  of  transit — the  isthmus  of  Chiriqui. 

The  best  information  concerning  this  route  is  derived  from  the  examination 


8  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

made  by  the  Cliiriqui  commission,  commanded  by  Commodore  Frederick  Engle, 
United  States  navy,  of  which  Commander  Jeffers  was  the  hydrographic  engineer, 
and  First  Lientenant  J.  St.  CLiir  Morton,  who  fell  at  Petersburg,  the  topograph- 
ical engineer.  Commodore  Engle  describes  the  luirbor  of  Chiriqni  as  "large,  deep, 
and  well  protected."  Commander  Jeffers  confirms  the  accuracy  of  the  survey  of 
Captain  (now  Rear- Admiral)  Barnett,  lloyal  Navy,  and  adds  :  "  No*finer  harbors 
can  be  found  than  those  on  the  Atlantic  side,  Shepherd's  harbor  included."  He 
says  also  of  Golfito,  in  Golfo  Dulce,  on  the  Pacific  side,  that  it  "is  unsurpassed 
in  natural  facilities ;  *  *  *  three  streams,  the  GURfito,  Coisal,  and 
the  Canaza,  enter  the  harbor  and  afford  an  ample  supply  of  fresh  water."  Lieu- 
tenant Morton  lauded  at  Frenchman's  creek,  and  crossed  the  isthmus  twice ;  in 
doing  which  he  explored  a  swamp  of  groat  extent,  and  discovered  a  hitherto  un- 
known pass  through  the  Cordilleras.  His  examination  resulted  in  "  the  convic- 
tion that  it  is  entirely  practicable  to  connect  the  harbors  by  a  line  of  railroad 
adapted  to  commercial  purposes."  But  since  Lieutenant  Morton  describes  his 
work  as  a  reconnaissance  merely,  made  with  the  Schmalcalder  compass,  and 
has  left  no  map,  journal,  or  note-book  in  the  archives  of  the  War  Department, 
I  am  imable  to  trace  his  route  precisely,  and  have  accordingly  laid  it  dov/n  on 
the  general  map  with  a  broken  line. 

Mr,  Evans,  the  geologist  of  the  Chiriqni  commission,  made  examinations  to 
ascertain  the  extent  a^id  value  of  the  coal  deposits  on  the  Chiriqni  lands.  He 
found  "  coal  seams  varying  in  quality  from  lignites  to  semi-bituminous  and 
semi-anthracite  coals."         *  *  <<  ^pj^g  supply  is  abundant."     He  found 

"  gold  and  ores  of  iron,  copper,  and  platinum,  *  *         a  rich  mineral 

region."  The  plains  are  described  as  being  fertile,  and  abounding  in  timber. 
Concerning  a  portion  of  the  province  of  Chiriqni,  known  as  the  territory  of  Eu- 
rica,  we  ha^e  some  interesting  information  from  J.  H.  Smith,  esq.,  of  Panama, 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.  I  have  cited  him  among  my 
authorities  for  the  convenience  of  the  future  student  or  explorer,  when  this  re- 
gion is  again  brought  under  examination. 

COSTA    RICA. 

At  the  very  moment  of  our  writing,  another  ])roject  of  an  iuteroceanic  rail- 
road is  presented  to  the  world  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "The  Interoccanic  Railroad 
througli  the  Republic  of  Costa  Rica,  by  F.  Kurtze,  C.  E.,  Director  general  of 
public  works,  Republic  of  Costa  Rica.     New  York:  Gray  &  Green,  1866." 

This  route  starts  from  Port  Lemon  on  the  Atlantic,  below  Point  Blanco,  and 
bordering  on  the  tenth  parallel  of  latitude.  After  running  in  a  straight  direction 
due  west  across  the  level  ground  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  it  turns  to  the 
northward  and  follows  the  course  pointed  out  by  nature,  skirting  the  different 
spurs  of  the  Cordillera,  and  crossing  the  minor  streams  until  it  reaches  the  right 
bank  of  the  Reventason,  which  it  follows  for  some  distance,  gradually  ascending 
\\p  to  the  table  lands  of  Cartago.  Near  Cartago,  at  Ochomogo,  it  reaches  the 
summit  level,  which  is  five  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighteen  feet  above  the 
sea  level ;  thence  it  descends  into  the  fertile  plains  of  San  Jose  and  passes  close 
to  the  capital  of  tte  same  name.  From  the  plains  of  San  Jose  it  descends  into 
the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  terminates  in  the  noble  gu'.f  of  Nicoya,  at  a 
point  called  Caldera,  from  the  hot  mineral  springs  in  its  vicinity. 

This  route  possesses,  in  a  marked  degree,  the  advantag;fs  ascribed  to  -the 
Honduras  route.  It  passes  through  a  territory  the  physical  geography  of  which 
exhibits  a  variety  of  forms,  the  soil  of  which  embraces  large  differences  of  pro- 
ductions, and  the  climate  of  which  is  rendered  salubrious,  even  under  the  tropics, 
by  the  moderateness  due  to  great  elevations.  Its  mineral  resources,  also,  are 
rich  and  diversified.  In  length  it  is  a  hundred  miles  shorter  than  the  Honduras 
route;  but  its  gradients  are  more  difficult,  and  its  summit  level  exceeds  that 
of  Honduras  by  more  than  two  thousand  feet. 


IXTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  9 

But  this  project  comes  before  the  public  embeili.-^bed  with  cue  recommcnclation 
peculiar  to  itself.  Throughout  the  strip  of  territory,  not  exceeding  eight  miles 
in  breadth,  in  "which  the  line  of  railroad  lies,  the  government  of  Costa  llica  has 
constructed  (with  the  exception  of  a  few  miles  at  the  Atlantic  end  which  is  fast 
being  completed)  a  wngon  road  from  sea  to  sea,  described  by  tlie  director  of  public 
works  as  a  substantial,  ihacadamized  higlnvay,  with  a  number  of  cut-stane 
bridges.  It  is  said  that  in  many  places  mile  after  mile  of  this  wagon  I'oad  can 
be  used  without  fnrther  leveling.  This  road  is  declared  to  be  sixty  feet  wide, 
and  therefore  able  to  spare  the  width  of  the  track. 

Although  this  route  is  wholly  excluded  from  our  consideration  of  "practical 
lines  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal,"  yet  I  have  given  it  a,  little  space  on- 
account  of  its  interest  and  importance.  It  requires  no  uncommon  foresight  to 
predict  that  unless  some  unexpected  calamity  occurs  to  obstruct  the  growth  of' 
the  healthy,  vigorous,  fertile,  and  flourishing  Kepublic  of  Costa  Rica,  portions  of 
this  road,  at  least,  on  the  northeastern  slope  Avill  be  built  from  time  to  time  if 
only  to  meet  the  wants  of  local  travel  and  traffic  For,  as  Mr.  Kurbee  observes,. 
"  it  is  but  a  single  step  from  a  substantial  macadamized  highway  to  a  railroad 
with  its  trains  of  freight  and  passenger  cars  ;"  and  the  people  which  has  been 
obliged  to  build  the  former,  for  the  accommodation  of  a  valuable  and  I'apidly 
hicreasing  commerce,  is  not  far  from  the  construction  of  the  latter. 

D. — Panama. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  American  isthmus  with  which  we  are  so-  well  ac- 
quainted as  the  oJd  route  from  Porto  Bello  or  Chagres  to  old  or  new  Panama, 
the  established  line  of  communication  since  the  year  1532 — that  is,  since  twenty- 
three  years  after  the  first  settlement  in  America.  The  surveys  made  by  the 
engineers  of  the  Panama  railroad  have  established  the  important  fact  that  the 
difference  between  the  mean  level  of  the  two  oceans  is  eithei^  nothing,  or  so  slight 
as  to  present  no  obstacle  to  the  construction  of  a  canal.  The  difficulties  pertain 
altogether  to  the  climate,  to  the  elevation,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  the  supply 
of  water.  The  character  and  extent  of  these  difficulties  may  be  learned  from 
the  survey  and  project  of  M.  Garella,  Ingenieur-en-chef  des  Mines,  in  1843.  la 
order  to  present  the  whole  subject  in  the  most  satisfiictory  manner,  I  have  in- 
cluded among  the  maps  appended  to  this  report  (No.  T)  M.  Garella's  survey  and 
profiles,  containing  all  tlie  details  of  his  project. 

This  route  was  selected  only  after  a  careful  inspectton  of  the  intervening  space, 
and  after  making  the  requisite  levellings.  It  will  be  seen  by  this  map  that  he 
follows  the  valleys  of  the  Bernardino  and  Caimito  on  the  southern  descent,  and 
those  of  Quebrado  and  Chagres  on  the  northern.  The  mountainous  region  ap- 
proaches very  near  the  Pacific,  and  its  highest  elevation  is  four  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  (459)  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  He  tunnels  the  mountain  at 
about  ninety-nine  (99)  metres  (324  feet  9"  inches)  below  its  highest  point;  and 
he  establishes  his  summit-level  for  a  distance  of  25,361  feet,  at  an  elevation  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  (135)  feet  above  high  water  from  the  Pacific  ocean. 
From  this  summit-level  he  descends  to  the  Pacific  ocean  by  means  of  seventeen 
(17)  locks,  some  of  which  are  necessaril}''  very  much  crowded.  On  the  other 
side  he  descends  to  the  Atlantic  by  eighteen  (18)  locks,  which,  owing  to  the 
more  gradual  descent  on  the  north,  are  more  conveniently  spaced. 

it  is  remarked  by  the  commission  of  the  "  Ponts  et  Chaussiies,"  appointed  to 
report  upon  M.  Garella's  project,  that  his  mode  of  proceeding-  is  reasonable,  and 
entirely  in  conformity  with  the  rules  of  art. 

A  glance  at  t-lie  plan  and  profile  shows  that  the  near  approach  of  the  chain  of 
the  Andes  to  the  Pacific  ocean  obliges  him  to  pursue  the  course  he  has  adopted. 
Of  the  whole  length  of  the  summit-level,  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  are  subterranean;  and,  as  the  Commission  observes,  this  is  not  only  in- 
convenient to  vessels,  but  it  involves  great  expense,  since  the  tunnel  must  be 


10  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS   AND    CANALS. 

sufficiently  liigli  to  allow  vessels  to  pass  tlirongli  with  tlieir  lower  masts,  at  least, 
stauding. 

The  means  of  feeding  the  canal  are  not  satisfactorily  stated.  The  river 
Chagres  was  gauged,  it  is  true,  at  Cruces  and  at  Gorgona,  hut  the  river  is  to  be 
tapped  above  these  points.  Provision  is  also  made  for  an  auxiliary  reservoir; 
still,  the  commission  is  not  satisfied  on  this  question.  ■* 

The  harbors  which  form  the  termini  of  the  canal  are,  on  the  Atlantic  side.  Navy 
bay,  and,  on  the  Pacific  side,  the  bay  of  Vaca  del  Monte.  We  know  that  Navy 
bay  is  an  insecure  anchorage  at  certain  periods  of  the  year,  and  the  harbor  on  the 
Pacific  is  altogether  insufiicient  for  vessels  of  even  moderate  draught.  M.  Garella 
is  obliged  to  include  in  his  estimates  a  sum  of  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars 
for  the  improvement  of  this  harbor.  I  have  entered  into  these  details  of  M. 
Garella's  project — all  of  which  are  more  fully  displayed  on  the  map — because 
it  presents  a  fair  representation  of  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  navigable  ship  canal  across  the  isthmus  of  Panama  proper;  and 
in  order  to  render  this  subject  still  more  intelligible  to  the  general  reader,  I  have 
added  Colonel  Hughes's  survey  of  the  Panama  railroad  in  map  No.  VI,  which 
contains  the  topogiaphical  features  and  profile  of  the  route. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  isthmus  of  Panama  proper.  Geographers  have  given 
the  name  of  Darien  to  that  part  of  the  isthmus  which  is  contained  between  the 
Panama  line  and  the  province  of  Choco.  On  this  isthmus  of  Darien,  as  we 
shall  call  it,  between  the  Panama  line  and  the  province  of  Choco,  there  are  three 
other  lines  or  pl|^ces  which  have  always  commanded  great  interest,  but  which  have 
never  received  the  attention  they  merit.  These  three  routes  are. from  the  Chepo 
or  Bayanos  river  to  San  Bias  or  Mandinga*  bay,  from  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel 
to  Caledonia  bay,  and  from  the  Gulf  of  San  Miguel  to  the  southern  part  of  the 
Gulf  of  Uraba  or  Darien,  or  else  to  some  point  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Atrato 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Cacarica.  I  will  take  up  these  three  in  the  order  now 
mentioned. 

The  first  of  these  lines,  from  Chepo  to  San  Bias,  has  always  been  the  subject 
of  special  curiosity  on  account  of  the  jealous  exclusion  by  the  Indians  of  all 
strangers  from  their  territory.  Our  accurate  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the 
coasts  on  both  sides  enables  us  to  determine  that  here  is  the  narrowest  part  of 
the  isthmus.  This  is  of  itself  an  important  fact;  and  added  to  this,  a  rumor  or 
report  has  been  received  from  the  Indians  in  this  vicinity  that  they  are  in  the 
habit  of  hauling  their  canoes  on  wooden  slides  across  the  Cordilleras  from  the 
Mandinga  river  and  launching  them  in  the  waters  of  the  Bayanos.  This  rumor, 
which  is  noticed  by  many  writers,  is  particularly  mentioned  by  Mr.  Oliphant, 
the  secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  in  a  paper  read  before  that 
society  on  the  24th  of  April,  1S65.  The  writer  of  that  paper  made  a  journey 
from  Panama  to  the  Chepo  or  Bayanos  river  simply  for  a  reconnaissance,  and  he 
says  that  the  tide  of  the  Pacific  extends  to  within  fifteen  (15)  miles  of  the  north- 
ern coast,  and  that  he  saw  from  Chepo  a  remarkable  depression  in  the  moiTutain 
chain  aboirt  ten  miles  distant.  He  makes  the  remark,  in  which  all  will  concur, 
that  it  is  a  discredit  to  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  this  part 
of  the  isthmus  should  not  have  been  explored.  This  is  not  owing,  however,  to 
a  want  of  effort.  Attempts  to  cross  the  isthmus  at  tins  point  were  made  by  Mr. 
Hopkins  and  Mr.  Wheelwright.     They  were  both  driven  back  by  the  aborigines. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  say  that  this  disci'edit  to  the 
civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century  has  been  removed  by  the  indefatigable 
zeal  and  enterprise  of  Mr.  Frederick  ]\I.  Kelly,  of  New  York,  of  whom  it  was 
justly  said  by  the  President  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  of  London, 
that  he  "  had  produced  more  intelligible  information  towards  tlie  solution  of  this 
problem,  of  such  vast  importance  to  the  commercial  and  political  interests  of  the 

*Al80  called  the  Gulf  of  Manzanilla. 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  11 

world,  than  had  hitherto  been  given;"  and  of  whom  Sir  R.  Murchison,  Vice- 
President  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  also  said  that  he  "  heartily  wished  he 
, might  succeed  in  this  great  and  philanthropic  project,  which  so  deeply  interested 
all  civilized  nations."  After  having  spent  a  great  deal  of  labor  and  money  upon 
the  examination  of  the  Atrato  and  San  Juan  rivers  in  search  of  a  suitable  route 
for  an  iuteroceanic  candl  across  the  province  of  Choco,  Mr.  Kelly  and  his 
friends,  in  1864,  took  up  the  long  deferred  but  much  coveted  exploration  of  the 
route  from  the  Chepo  to  the  Gulf  of  San  Bias.  The  results  of  this  exploration 
are  given  in  the  annexed  map,  numbered  VII. 

From  Mr.  Kelly's  plans  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  whole  length  of  the 
route  from  ocean  to  ocean  is  only  thirty  miles.  On  the  north,  there  is  the  ad- 
mirable, spacious,  and  deep  harbor  of  San  Bias;  and  on  the  south  the  channel 
leading  into  the  bay  of  Panama  has  not  less  than  eighteen  (IS)  feet  of  water  at 
mean  low  tide,  while  the  ordinary  rise  of  tide  is  sixteen  (16)  feet.  I  give  these 
figures  from  Mr.  Kelly's  survey;  but  I  must  observe  that  this  result  of  the  ex- 
amination by  his  engineer  of  the  entrance  of  the  Chepo  is  entirely  unexpected, 
and  does  not  accord  with  the  admiralty  charts.  But  the  most  striking  feature 
of  the  project,  as  of  M.  Garella's,  is  a  tunnel,  similar  in  its  length,  and  in  other 
respects,  to  the  great  tunnel  through  the  Alps  at  Mont  Cenis,  which  is  nearly 
one-half  cut  through,  and  in  which  the  progress  is  so  satisfactory  that  the  period 
of  its  completion  can  be  definitely  fixed. 

When  the  tunnel  through  Mont  Cenis,  and  the  still  greater  one  through  Mont 
St.  Gothard,  are  finished  and  in  use,  such  undertakings  will  cease  to  be  regarded 
with  the  aversion  we  now  feel  towards  them. 

It  must  be  observed,  however,  with  regard  to  Mr.  Kelly's  survey,  that  owing 
to  its  being  a  private  affair  it  was  necessarily  accomplished  at  the  least  expense 
and  with  the  utmost  expedition.  It  pursued  a  single  line,  Mathout  deviating  to 
the  right  or  left,  although  the  surveyors  were  satisfied  that  they  saw  evidences 
of  greater  depression  to  the  westward  of  their  course;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  a  deliberate  examination,  made  under  such  advantages  as  would 
pertain  to  a  governmental  survey,  would  lessen  the  difiiculties,  and,  perhaps,  lead 
to  the  discovery  of  such  a  route  through  the  valleys  as  would  render  a  resort  to 
tunnelling  unnecessary.  This  subject  will  be  resumed  in  the  general  remarks 
and  recommendations  with  which  the  report  will  be  concluded. 

GULF    OF   SAN    MIGUEL    TO    CALEDONIA    BAY. 

The  next  place  in  order  is  the  line  between  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  and 
Caledonia  bay.  We  have  here,  at  both  ends  of  the  line,  harbors  spacious  and 
admirable  in  every  respect,  and,  on  the  south  side,  there  is  a  height  of  tide 
suited  to  the  construction  of  docks  for  repairs,  &c.  It  is  held  by  many  persons 
that  no  line  of  iuteroceanic  canal  merits  serious  attention  unless  it  possesses 
this  indispensable  requisite  of  good  natural  harbors,  requiring  no  artificial  im- 
provements, except  those  for  the  ordinary  conveniences  of  commerce,  such  as 
wharves  and  docks.  Certainly  it  will  add  very  much  to  the  difficulties  and 
embarrassments,  as  well  as  to  the  expense,  of  this  great  enterprise,  to  mix  with 
it  any  doubtful  questions  of  harbor  improvement. 

The  greatest  interest  has  always  centred  in  this  particular  line  on  other 
accounts.  The  first  settlement  in  all  America  was  iu  this  vicinity,  and  the 
next  settlement  on  the  isthmiis  was  at  Agla,  a  few  miles  inland,  on  Caledonia 
bay.  It  was  through  this  district  of  country  that  the  buccaneers  made  frequent 
incursions  upon  the  original  Spanish  settlers,  who  had  opened  and  were  working 
mines  at  Cona  or  Cana  and  Espiritu  Santo.  The  history  of  the  buccaneers 
furnishes  us  with  many  interesting  accounts  of  their  incursions  into  this  region. 
But  since  their  topographical  descriptions  are  not  full  enough  to  be  traced  on 
any  modern  map,  it  is  sufficient  merely  to  refer  to  them.*     It  was,  no  doubt, 

*It  may  be  said,  on  the  authority  of  Fitz  Roy,  that  they  can  be  followed  ou  the  old  Spanish 
maps.  . 


12  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

owing  to  the  success  of  the  buccfinecrs  that  Paterson  was  induced  to  settle  at 
Darieu  with  his  Scotch  colony.  He  derived  the  information  on  Avhich  he  acted, 
in  part,  from  personal  intercourse  with  the  surviving  buccaueers.  In  one  of  his 
letters  to  the  court  of  directors  of  the  "Indian  and  African  Company,"  cited 
by  Dalrymple  in  his  Memoirs  of  Great  Britain,  voh  2,  page  115,  he  says: 
"  Gold  may  be  gotten  in  very  many  places.  No  mines  are  worked  or  looked 
after  that  yield  as  low  as  J  ounce  per  day  to  the  laborer.  Often  they  yield  4 
ounces  per  day.     The  mine  of  Cana  is  worked  by  a  thousand  negroes." 

In  our  own  time,  this  line  of  communication  has  received  more  attention  than 
any  other,  except  the  Panama  line.  The  governments  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  the  United  States  have  each  undertaken  its  exploration,  with  a  singular 
want  of  success.  One  English  surveyor,  Mr.  Gisborne,  entered  the  country 
from  Caledonia  bay,  and,  after  reaching  the  summit  of  the  Cordillera,  turned 
back.  Captain  Prevost,  of  the  royal  navy,  led  the  exploring  party  which 
ascended  the  Savana  from  the  gulf  of  San  Miguel  to  the  head  of  navigation, 
and  thence  cut  his  Avay  through  the  woods  and  swamps  until  he  reached  the 
Cordillera,  Avhen  he  also  turned  back.  lie  says  in  the  official  report  of  his  pro- 
ceedings, under  date  of  January  4,  1854:  "Although  finding  ourselves  in  the 
centre  of  the  Cordilleras,  and,  1  believe,  within  a  very  few  miles  of  the  object 
of  our  search,  yet,  having  already  exceeded  the  limits  of  my  stay,  it  became  my 
duty  to  rejoin  the  ship  without  delay,  still  feeling  confident  that  had  time  and 
our  provisions  allowed  us,  we  should  eventually  have  reached  the  Atlantic  shores, 
and  that  easily,  by  following  one  of  the  several  rivers  or  streams  which  appear 
to  exist  in  this  range  of  hills,  forming  certain  passages  to  the  sea." 

Th^  expedition  of  Strain,  though  it  called  out  a  remarkable  display  of  courage 
and  endurance  under  the  most  fearful  trials,  was  even  less  fruitful  of  knowledge 
than  those  of  Gisborne  and  Prevost. 

1  have  appended  a  map,  numbered  VIII,  of  the  joint  exploration  of  the  two 
English  gentlemen  here  mentioned,  taken  from  Gisborne's  report  to  the  Royal 
Geograj)hical  Society.  It  will  be  perceived  that  the  routes  of  these  two  gen- 
tlemen join  on  to  each  other.     Sections  of  both  tracks  are  given  on  the  map. 

The  only  person  in  our  time  who  claims  to  have  crossed  the  isthmus  directly 
between  the  two  great  bays  is  Dr.  Cullen.  Dr.  Cullen  says  that  on  his  first  jour- 
ney into  Darien,  in  1849,  he  was  totally  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the  Savana 
river  until  he  actually  saw  it,  after  entering  Boca  Chica,  "when,"  he  continues, 
"fiiiding  the  great  depth  of  water  at  its  mouth,  and  that  it  flowed  almost 
directly  from  the  north,  I  became  convinced  that  I  had  at  last  found  the  object 
of  my  search,  viz.,  a  feasible  route  to  the  Atlantic  ;  and  thereupon  I  immediately 
ascended  it,  and  crossed  from  Canasas  to  the  sea-shore,  at  Port  Escoces,  and 
back;  and  subsequently,  in  1850,  and  also  in  1851,  crossed  and  recrossed  at 
several  times  and  by  several  tracks  the  route  from  Savana  to  Port  Escoces  and 
Caledonia  bay,  notching  the  bark  of  the  trees  as  I  went  along  with  a-jnachete 
or  cutlass,  always  alone  and  unaided,  and  always  in  the  season  of  the  heaviest 
rains.  *  *  *  And  I  bad  not  the  least  hesitation  in  deciding  that  that  must 
be  the  future  route  for  intoroceanic  communication  for  ships."  (Isthmus  of 
Darien  Ship  Canal,  by  Dr.  Cullen,  kd  edition,  p.  19.) 

The  principal  point  of  interest  in  this  exploration  is,  of  course,  the  passage 
of  the  Cordillera.  Concerning  this,  Dr.  Cullen  says:  "From  tlie  sea-shore, 
(Port  Escoces,)  a  plain  extends  for  nearly  two  miles  to  the  base  of  a  ridge  of 
hills  which  runs  paralled  to  the  coast,  and  whose  highest  summit  is  about  350 
feet.  This  ridge  is  not  quite  continuous  and  unbroken,  but  is  divided  by  trans- 
verse valleys,  through  Avhich  the  Aglaseniqua,  Aglatomate,  and  other  rivers 
have  their  course,  and  whose  highest  elevations  do  not  exceed  150  feet.  The 
base  of  this  ridge  is  only  two  miles  in  width,  and  from  its  south  side  a  level 
plain  extends  for  thirteen  miles  to  a  point  on  the  river  Savana,  called  Canasas, 
which  is  about  twenty  miles  above  its  mouth."     (Page  28,  ibid.) 


INTEROCEANIC   RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  id 

No  language  could  be  more  simple,  explicit,  and  direct  than  the  language  of 
ttis  statement.  Admitting  it  to  be  literally  correct,  we  have  to  go  no  farther; 
for  the  object  of  our  search,  the  existence  of  a  practicable  route  for  an  inter- 
oceanic  ship  canal,  has  been  discovered. 

Dr.  Cullen's  map,  numbered  IX  of  the  series  appended  to  this  report,  pre- 
sents a  line  of  communication  which  combines  all  the  advantages  required  by 
the  engineer.,  It  possesses  the  indispensable  rer^uisite  of  harbors  of  perfect 
security,  sufficient  depth  of  water,  and  large  capacity  at  both  termini — that  on 
the  Pacific  side  having  a  rise  of  tide  which  adapts  it  to  the  construction  of 
building  and  repairing  docks,  a  circumstance  the  value  of  which  cannot  be  over- 
estimated. It  cuts  the  Cordilleras  at  a  depression  at  least  thirty  feet  below  any 
that  has  ever  been  reported,  and  several  hundred  feet  below  any  that  has  actu- 
ally been  surveyed,  or  that  has  been  approximately  determined  by  trustworthy 
observers.  The  course  of  this  line  is  direct,  free  from  obstructions,  and  excep- 
tionally healthy,  while  its  outlets  open  updu  coasts  where  violent  storms  are 
rarely  known.  The  plains  on  each  side  of  the  dividing  ridge  are  of  easy  slope 
and  readily  penetrated.  The  Savana  river  itself  would  form  a  part  of  the 
canal.  And,  finally,  accepting  the  particular  statement  of  Dr.  Cullen  as  fully 
reliable,  a  ship  canal  may  be  cut  on  this  line  without  locks,  and  even  without 
tunnel,  and  yet  not  surpass,  either  in  difficulty,  in  labor,  or  in  the  amount  of  time 
or  money  consumed  in  its  construction,  several  other  monuments  of  human 
genius  and  enterprise  in  past  times  and  in  our  own  day. 

Thus,  for  example,  the  Mexican  Desague,  of  which  Humboldt  says :  "  In  its 
actual  state  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  gigantic  hydraulic  operations  #ver 
executed  by, man.  We  are  filled  with  admiration  when  we  consider  the  nature  of 
the  ground,  and  the  enormous  breadth,  depth,  and  length  of  the  aperture.  If  the 
cut  were  filled  with  water  to  the  depth  of  ten  metres  (32.8  feet)  the  largest 
vessels  of  war  could  pass  through  the  range  of  mountains  which  bound  the  plains 
of  I\Iexico  to  the  northeast."  (Humboldt,  New  Spain,  vol.  2d,  pp.  110,  111.) 
"This  wonderful  work,"  says  Admiral  Fitz  Roy,  "200  feet  deep  anfi^  300 
feet  wide  for  nearly  a  thousand  yards,  and  above  100  feet  deep  through  an  ex- 
tent of  three  thousand  yards,  (making  altogether  two  miles  of  distance  in  which 
that  vast  excavation  would  be  capable  of  concealing  the  masthead  of  a  first- 
rate  man-of-war,)  executed  within  the  last  three  centuries  within  Central  Amer- 
ica, should  induce  us  to  listen  respectfully  to  the  plans  of  modern  engineers, 
howeyer  startling  they  may  appear  at  first."  (Journal  Royal  Geographical  So- 
ciety," vol.  20,  p.  176.) 

A  ship  canal  twenty- six  or  twenty-seven  miles  in  length,  on  such  a  line  as 
that  described  by  Dr.  Cullen,  (pp.  24,  el  seq.)  with  a  cut  of  two  miles  only 
through  hard  rock,  would,  in  all  respects  of  time,  money,  and  difficulty,  fall  far 
short  of  that  tunnel  which  is  now  in  progress  unsler  the  Alps  at  Mont  Cenis, 
for  the  purpose  of  connecting  France  and  Italy  by  a  continuous  railway.  The 
length  of  this  tunnel  is  seven  miles  and  1,044  yards.  At  Mont  Cenis  it  is,  in 
fcection,  twenty-six  feet  three  inches,  and  twenty  feet  eight  inches  high  above  the 
rails.  Throughout  the  whole  line  it  passes  through  rock,  and,  in  some  places, 
very  hard  rock.  This,  by  far  the  greatest  and  boldest  work  of  the  kind  ever 
yet  undertaken,  with  its  covered  drain  throughout,  its  lining  of  masonry,  its  re- 
cesses at  the  distance  of  every  fifty  metres,  (164  feet,)  and  its  chambers  ten  or 
twelve  feet  square  at  intervals  of  1,650  feet,  may  well  spur  us  on  to  engage  in 
this  enterprise,  which  has  for  its  object  the  union  not  of  two  adjacent  countries, 
but  of  remote  continents;  the  promotion,  not  of  interior  traffic  in  one  or  two  dis- 
ti'icts,  but  of  commerce  and  intercourse  between  all  the  peoples  of  the  habitable 
globe.  I  say  this  because  the  construction  of  an  interoceanic  ship  canal  is — to 
borrow  the  thought  of  an  eloquent  writer  on  this  subject — the  same  thing  as  if 
by  some  revolution  of  our  globe  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia  and  the  southern 
continent  were  brought  nearer  to  us. 


14  INTEEOCEANIC    EAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

Such  ai-e  the  prospects  wliicli  the  statements  of  Dr.  Culleu  ofFer  to  us.  But 
it  is  with  extreme  reluctance  I  am  compelled  to  say  that  these  statements  stand 
in  Dr.  Oullen's  book  as  mere  assertions,  unaccompanied  by  notes  or  measure- 
ments. I  cannot  but  join  with  Admiral  Fitz  Roy  in  his  regret  that  Dr.  Oullen 
has  not  given  to  the  world  the  journals  and  details  of  his  repeated  explorations ; 
such,  for  example,  as  are  given  by  Grisborne  and  Prevost  on  or  about  the  same 
line.  However,  it  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  observe  that  Admiral  Fitz  Roy  gives 
Dr.  Cullen  credit  for  "  valuable  information  gleaned  from  archives,  maps,  books, 
oral  accounts  and  his  own  persd\ial  observation,  and  for  being  the  first  to  ascer- 
tain the  existence  of  a  low  summit-level."  lie  adds  that  Dr.  Oullen's  state- 
ment "  is  corroborated  by  Gisborne ;"  and  ascribes  to  Dr.  Oullen  the  merit  "  of 
recommending  from  personal  observation  the  river  Savaua  as  preferable  to  the 
Chuquanaque  on  account  of  its  nearer  approach  to  the  noi'th  coast." 

It  is  also  gratifying  to  perceive  that  Airiau,  who  has  made  a  careful  study  of 
this  subject,  has  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion ;  that  is,  that  the  proper  line 
for  an  interoceanic  canal  is  from  the  bay  of  San  Miguel  up  the  river  Savana  to 
its  junction  with  the  Lara,  and  from  this  point  straight  across  the  plain  to  the 
foot  of  the  Oordilleras.  (Prevost's  route,  approximately.)  "  With  regard  to 
the  Oordillera,  in  proportion  as  it  advances,  proceeding  from  the  base  of  the 
isthmus,  it  descends  a  good  deal,  and  is  only,  so  to  speak,  a  range  of  hills  or 
isolated  peaks,  the  bases  of  which  are  intersected  by  ravines  which  point  out  to 
•  the  engineer  the  true  route  of  the  canal.  The  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Caledonia  bay  make  use  of  these  passages.  One  of  them  is  elevated  about 
fifty  metres,  (164  feet,)  and  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  mahogany, 
paflh,  ebony,  and  other  trees."  (Oanal  Interoceanique  par  I'lsthme  du  Darien, 
p.  52.     See  list  of  authorities  appended  to  this  report.) 

The  same  writer  describes  the  country  on  the  north  of  the  Oordillera  as  a 
slope,  gradually  descending  to  the  water's  edge.  No  special  authority  is  given 
for  this  description  of  the  Oordillera,  though  Gisborne  and  other  travellers  are 
generally  quoted  ;  and  it  is  further  to  be  remarked  that  Airiau's  estimates 
(chap,  iv)  are  based  upon  probabilities,  not  on  actual  measurement,  and  these 
probabilities  are  deduced  from  Garella's  survey,  as  well  as  from  the  statements 
of  Gisborne  and  others.  • 

Besides  Cullen  and  Airiau,  there  are  other  high  authorities  who  have  re- 
garded the  isthmus  of  Darien  as  the  place  where  we  are  to  look  for  the  con- 
summation of  our,  wishes.  Admiral  Fitz  Roy,  wIjo,  at  the  period  when  he 
last  wrote,  1853,  had  made  a  more  careful  and  accurate  study  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject than  any  man  then  living,  and  whose  opinions  no  one  experienced  in  the 
hydrography  of  the  globe  will  lightly  question,  has  said  :  "  A  strong  conviction 
remains  on  all  our  minds  that  Darien  should  be  surveyed  without  delay.  The 
illustrious  Humboldt  declares  himself  thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  isthmus  of 
Darien  is  superior  to  any  other  portion  of  the  entire  neck  for  a  canal." 

But  we  can  go  further  back  in  our  authorities.  The  incursions  of  the  old 
buccaneers,  Dampier,  Ringrose,  Sharp,  Wafer,  and  Davis,  which  can  be  followed 
on  the  old  Spanish  maps,  have  made  us  strangely  familiar  with  some  parts  of 
this  region,  abounding  in  the  gold  that  was  the  object  of  their  search.  The 
well-known  and  pi'oductive  mines  of  Cona  and  Espiritu  Santo,  partly  on  ac- 
count of  these  very  incursions,  were  long  since  abandoned.  We  also  follow, 
without  difficulty,  the  direct  route  (1788)  of  the  Spanish  officer,  Don  Manuel 
de  Milla  Santa  Ella,  from  Caledonia  harbor  to  El  Principe,  thence  down  the 
Savana  river  to  the  harbor  of  Darien,  up  the  Tuyra,  and  again  up  the  Chuqua- 
naque to  Yavisa.  While  stopping  in  this  village  he  received  information  from 
the  governor  that  two  hostile  Chucunaque  Indians  were  pursuing  his  tracks. 
On  this,  he  determined  to  send  his  Indian  guide  Urruchurchu  forward  with  the 
despatches  and  go  back  himself  and  return  to  Carolina  by  the  way  of  Panama 
and  Porto  Bello.     (Cullen,  pp.  192  et  seq.) 


INTEROCEANIC   RAILROADS   AND   CANALS.  15 

And,  lastly,  we  must  adduce  the  testimony  of  that  very  remarkable  man, 
William  Paterson,  who  carried  with  him,  in  his  settlement  at  Caledonia  harbor 
ample  stores  of  information  collected  from  the  buccaneers,  who,  during  his  long 
residence,  had  leisure  and  opportunity  to  make  himself  acquainted  with  the  sur- 
rounding district,  and  who  made  at  least  one  journey  into  the  interior,  the  journal 
of  which  is  given  in  his  papers.  One  hundred  and  seventy  years  ago,  the  far- 
reaching  mind  of  Paterson  had  contemplated  the  isthmus  of  Daiiea  with  the 
same  enlightened  views  as  the  statesmen  and  political  economists  of  the  present 
time.  He  originated  and  partly  executed  the  project  of  settling  a  great  colony 
in  this  then  remote  region  for  the  purpose  of  "  removing  distances  and  drawing 
nations  nearer  to  each  other."  In  one  of  his  letters  to  the  Darien  company,  he 
says,  (what  is  as  true  now  as  it  was  then,)  "  the  time  and  expense  of  navigation 
to  China,  Japan,  the  Spice  islands,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  East  Indies,  will 
be  lessened  more  than  one-half,  and  the  consumption  of  European  commodities 
and  manufactures  will  soon  be  more  than  doubled.  *  *  *  Thus  this  door 
of  the  seas  and  key  of  the  universe,  with  anything  of  a  reasonable  management, 
will,  of  course,  enable  its  proprietors  to  give  laws  to  both  oceans  and  become 
arbitrators  of  the  commercial  world." 

This,  however,  is  not  said  in  any  narrow  spirit  of  selfishness  ;  for,  he  adds, 
"  You  may  easily  perceive  that  the  nature  of  these  discoveries  is  such  as  are 
not  to  be  engrossed  by  any  one  nation  or  people  to  the  exclusion  of  others." 
And  he  denounced  the  contrary. policy  as  being  no  less  ruinous  than  niggardly. 

I  might  extend  these  and  similar  quotations  almost  indefinitely.  A  glance  at 
the  list  of  authorities  on  this  subject  of  interoceanic  communication,  appended  to 
this  report,  will  suffice  to  show  how  easy  it  Avould  be  to  so  stretch-out  this  pSper 
to  any  extent  by  historical,  ge'ographical,  hydrographical,  statistical,  and  descrip- 
tive passages  and  illustrations.  I  am,  however,  free  from  any  temptation  to  do 
so,  for  I  am  Avell  aware  that  I  shall  best  answer  the  end  of  the  call  under  which 
I  am  writing  by  confining  myself  as  strictly  as  possible  to  the  actual  state  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  great  isthmuses,  and  to  the  channels  into  which  new  attempts 
are  to  be  directed.  But  I  will  not  forbear  to  mention  that  it  is  interesting  to  the 
American  statesman  of  the  present  day  to  see  in  what  light  the  possession  of 
the  isthmus  was  regarded  by  a  British  statesman  of  the  latter  part  of  the  last 
century.    [Vide  Dalrymple's  Memoirs,  vol.  2,  p.  111.) 

I  have  still  one  more  exploration  in  this  region  to  mention,  the  last  one  of 
which  we  have  any  accurate  knowledge,  but  by  no  means  the  least  interesting 
and  profitable.  I  refer  to  the  expedition  of  M.  Bourdiol,  civil  engineer,  who  was 
employed  in  1864,  by  a  French  society,  to  conduct  a  new  exploration  on  the  isth- 
mus of  Darien.  For  the  greater  convenience  of  supplies  for  his  party,  he  found 
it  expedient  to  begin  on  the  Pacific  side.  His  expedition  comprised  twenty -five 
persons,  of  whom  one  was  an  Indian  and  nine  were  negroes.  M.  Bourdiol's 
course  lay  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lara  across  the  isthmus  to  the  river  Chu- 
quanaque,  which  he  reached  at  a  point  a  little  below  the  Sucubti.  Here  he 
was  oblig'ed  to  turn  back,  all  the  natives  having  abandoned  him  through  fear  of 
the  hostile  aborigines  (the  hravos)  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Cordilleras. 
This  expedition  of  M.  Bourdiol  is  full  of  instruction  for  the  future  surveyors  of 
the  isthmus,  not  only  on  account  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  conducted,  but 
on  account  of  its  failure  to  reach  the  Atlantic  shore.  M.  Bourdiol  had  made 
better  preparation  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  introduced  into  his  work 
accuracy,  zeal,  and  laborious  industry.  He  encountered  great  hardships,  and 
yielded  only  when  the  obstacles  to  his  progress  became  insurmountable. 

His  narrative  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  G-eographical  Society  of  Paris,  1864,  will 
be  attentively  read  by  every  one  who  is  to  follow  in  his  track.  But  the  prin- 
cipal lessons  to  be  derived  from  it  may  be  summed  up  as  follows  : 

First.  The  imperative  necessity  of  taking  provision  in  a  concentrated  form, 
on  which  I  dwell  more  than  once  in  this  report,  is  very  clearly  shown.     The 


16  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

want  of  provisions  was  one  of  the  insurmountable  obstacles  that  obliged  him  to 
turn  back.  It  appears  to  have  b^  en  impracticable  to  supply  the  party  from  the 
vessel  Avlien  they  had  reached  the  interior. 

The  second  and  equally  important  lesson  is,  that  the  proper  season  is  to  be 
selected.  Bourdiol  attempted  to  make  his  exploration  in  the  month  of  May. 
At  one  time  he  Avas  in  danger  of  having  his  retreat  cut  off  by  the  enlargement 
of  the  streams,  and  by  the  torrents  created  by  the  abnndant  rains.  At  another 
time  he  was  wading  up  to  his  waist  in  water ;  and,  in  order  to  make  sure  of  a 
safe  return  across  an  inundated  plain,  he  left,  as  he  advanced,  his  people  sta- 
tioned at  intervals  like  live  beacons.  But  for  this  precaution  he  might  never 
have  found  his  Avay  back;  and,  in  spite  of  it,  he  came  near  losing  one  of  his  men. 

Thirdly.  I  speak  elsewhere  of  the  necessity  of  providing  the  means  of  clearing 
the  way  through  the  dense  and  matted  undergrowth  by  steel  and  by  fire.  (Page 
22.)  j\r.  Bourdiol's  experience  on  mis  point  is  exceedingly  instructive.  The 
natives  mny  be  employed  with  their  machetes.  They  are  strong,  active,  and 
enduring,  but  are  very  timid,  and  not  to  be  relied  upon. 

Fourth  and  lastly.  Suitable  preparation  must  be  made  for  encountering  the 
hostility  of  the  Indian  hraros  who  inhabit  the  Atlantic  declivity. 

This  is  the  proper  place  to  call  special  attention  to  the  benefits  which  have 
been  conferred  upon  the.  world  by  all  previous  explorers,  whether  their  labors 
have  been  carried  on  systematically  and  to  an  end,  or  have  been  cut  short  by 
accident,  hostility,  or  a  want  of  proper  equipment. 

Every  successful  and  complete  survey,  like  those  of  Tehuantepec,  Honduras, 
Nicaragua,  Panama,  &c.,  which  has  proved  the  unfitness  of  the  route  for  an 
interoceanic  jfommunication  by  canal,  has  benefited  us  by  eliminating  these 
points  from  our  consideration,  and  thus  narrowing  down  our  field  of  inquiry. 
Every  unsuccessful  attempt  has  conferred  a  benefit  by  teaching  us  the  precau- 
tions Ave  are  to  observe,  and  the  errors  Ave  should  avoid. 

FROM  SAN  MIGUEL  TO  GULF  OF  URABA  OR  DARIEN. 

The  remaining  line  on  this  part  of  the  isthmus  is  that  Avhich  ascends  the 
Tuyra  and  crosses  to  the  A'alley  of  the  Atrato.  It  is  satisfoctory  to  know  that 
a  plan  for  a  survey  of  this  route  is  already  on  foot.  Mr.  Gogorza,  a  resident  of 
New  Granada,  has  recently  communicated  the  discovery  of  a  short  and  easy 
transit  across  the  Cordillera  at  this  point.  According  to  his  statement,  the 
mountain  is  depressed  to  an  elevation  offifty-eight  metres  (190  feet)  above  the 
level  of  tide-Avater;  the  distance  between  the  Avaters,  navigable  by  canoe,  on  the 
tAvo  sides  of  the  mountain,  is  only  three  miles. 

Since  the  verification  of  these  estimates  is  about  to  be  undertaken  by  compe- 
tent authority,  it  is  not  expedient  to  say  anything  fui'ther  on  this  route  than 
this :  that  it  is  expressly  pointed  out  by  Fitz  Roy,  and  draAvn  on  his  general 
map,  and  that  it  is  also  mentioned  at  length  by  TrautAvine.  A  regular  survey 
by  the  government  would  be  desirable,  Avhether  the  present  private  enterprise 
on  foot  should  make  any  important  discoveries  or  not. 

E.-^ThE   AtRATO  ROUTE. 

For  many  years  explorations  have,  from  time  to  time,  been  carried  through 
the  valley  of  the  Atrato  to  various  points  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  search  of  a 
suitable  path  for  effecting  a  union  of  the  two  oceans  by  a  ship  canal  Avithout 
locks.  These  explorations  have,  in  one  respect,  been  satisfactory.  They  have 
been  conducted  by  able  engineers,  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  public, 
and  they  have  been  given  to  the  Avorld  in  the  most  useful'  and  intelligible  form. 
We  are  noAv  sure  that  Ave  are  Avell  acquainted  with  the  region,  especially  in  those 
particular  parts  over  which  the  surveyors  have  passed.  Whoever  will  take  the 
pains  to  study  the  maps  and  reports  of  Trautwine,  Kennish,  and  Colonel  Mich- 


INTEEOCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  17 

ler  of  the  United  States  engineers,  will  be  able  to  form  an  independent  opinion 
with  regard  to  the  practicability  of  finding  in  this  direction  the  means  of  ful- 
filling the  world's  expectation  of  a  passage  through  the  great  American  isthmus. 
It  is  well  known  that  we  are  indebted  to  one  gentleman,  principally,  for  all 
these  trustworthy  contributions  to  our  geographical  knowledge. 

In  the  year  1852,  Mr.  Kelly,  of  New  York,  influenced  by  the  early  reports  of 
Humboldt,  (who,  however,  it  must  be  remembered,  does  not  here  speak  from  his 
own  knowledge,  but  merely  recites  what  is  communicated  by  others,)  and  in- 
spired by  the  grandeur  of  the  object,  commenced  a  series  of  surveys,  beginning 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Atrato  river,  and  crossing  the  Cordilleras  at  several  points. 
Of  these  surveys  I  will  here  give  a  brief  account,  in  order  to  show  precisely 
where  we  stand  in  regard  to  this  region.  What  is  here  said  concerning  the 
early  history  of  these  undertakings  is  taken,  in  part,  from  a  paper  communi- 
cated to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London,  by  its  secretary,  Dr.  Nor- 
ton Shaw,  in  1856. 

The  first  espedition,  undertaken  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Kelly  and  other  gentle- 
men, was  placed  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Trautwine,  an  engineer  of  Phila- 
delphia, who  had  already  acquired  distinction  in  Honduras  and  in  the  work  of  the 
Panama  railway.  Mr.  Trautwine  surveyed  the  mouth  of  the  Atrato,  and  then 
ascended  the  river  to  Quibdo,  examining  several  of  its  tributaries  in  passing. 
Above  Quibdo  he  followed  first  the  tributary  Quito,  and  then  the  tributary  Pato  to 
its  source;  here  he  crossed  the  dividing  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  took  a  canoe 
on  the  river  Baudo,  which  he  traced  to  its  mouth  on  the  Pacific.  Returning  on 
his  steps  he  turned  off  from  the  Baudo,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pepe,  which  river 
lie  ascended  to  its  source,  and  crossed  the  mountains  on  a  second  track  to  the 
river  Surucco,  one  of  the  headwaters  of  the  San  Juan,  and  proceeded  along  the 
last-named  river  on  a  third  track.  He  crossed  from  San  Juan  to  Quibdo,  which 
track  leads  across  the  water-shed  said  to  have  been  intersected  by  the  famous 
Ras^adura  canal.  The  existence  of  this  canal  is  now  disproved,  if  the  word 
canal  is  intended  to  signify  a  practicable  artificial  water-course,  constructed  and 
employed  for  the  passage  of  boats  or  vessels.* 

This  route  was  again  traversed  by  Mr.  Trautwine,  when  he  returned  from 
Quibdo,  and  navigated  the  river  San  Juan  throughout  its  length  to  the  bay  of 
Chirambira,  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Trautwine 
during  his  expedition  crossed  the  Cordillera  at  three  different  places.  A  copy 
of  Mr.  Trautwine's  map  is  included  in  the  appended  series  and  numbered  X; 
it  embraces  his  plan  and  elevation  of  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Atrato  and 
San  Juan  rivers.  * 

In  1853,  another  expedition  was  fitted  out  by  Mr.  Kelly,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, and  placed  in  charge  of  Mr.  Lane  and  Mr.  Porter,  civil  engineers  of  New 
York,  with  instructions  to  extend  and  follow  up  the  investigations  of  Mr. 
Trautwine.  Mr.  Porter  pursued  the  route  previously  taken  by  Mr.  Traut- 
wine, ascending  the  Atrato,  and  crossing  over  the  dividing  ridge  to  San 
Pablo,  on  the  San  Juan.  His  observations  harmonized  entirely  with  those  of 
his  predecessor."  Mr.  Lane,  after  examining  the  Atrato  to  Quibdo,  took  the 
eastern  course  along  the  Atrato  to  the  Andagueda,  whence  he  crossed  the  di- 
viding ridge  to  the  San  Juan.  He  also  examined  the  supposed  Raspadura 
canal.  Throughout  his  expeditions  his  results  agree  with  those  previously  re- 
ported by  Mr.  Trautwine. 

"We  may  sum  up  the  results  of  these  surveys,  so  far  as  the  question  of  an 
interoceanic  canal  is  concerned,  in  the  following  declaration :     The  examina- 

*  It  is  worth  mentioning,  as  a  matter  of  curiosity,  that  this  canal  of  Raspadura  has  been 
actually  laid  down  on  a  large  chart  of  South  America,  and  also  on  a  chart  of  Columbia,  both 
by  Bni6,  and  also  on  a  chart  of  New  Granada,  given  by  Maltc  Brun,  p^re,  in  the  ]6th 
vol.  of  the  Annales  des  Voyages  for  the  year  1811.  This  last  ohart  passed  under  Humboldt's 
review.     (Malte  Brun,  fils,  1857,  p.  22,  note.) 

2  I  R 


18     .  INTEEOCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

tion  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Atrato,  of  the  intervenhig  water-shed,  and  of  the 
headwaters  of  the  San  Juau,  satisfactorily  proved  that  nature  forbids  ns 
altogether  to  entertain  the  idea  of  a  union  of  the  two  oceans  in  this  direction. 

Mr.  Kelly's  indefatigable  spirit  of  inquiry  took  a  new  course.  Humboldt 
had  been  told  that  from  the  bay  of  Cupica  eastward,  for  a  distance  of  fifteen 
or  eighteen  miles,  the  ground  was  level  and  suitable  for  a  canal  which  would 
teiTninate  on  the  river  Napipi.  It  was  represented  to  him  that  between  this 
part  of  the  coast  and  the  valley  of  the  Atrato  the  chain  of  the  Ai^des  is  entirely 
broken,  and  on  this  point  he  quotes  the  authority  of  an  intelligent  Biscayan 
pilot.  A  number  of  other  authorities  are  cited  by  Fitz  R03',  particularly  Lieu- 
tenant Wood,  E-oyal  Navy,  and  Captain  Illingsworth,  (Journal  Royal  Geograph- 
ical Society,  1851,  p.  178,)  who  give  color  to  the  correctness  of  this  statement 
by  circumstantial  facts ;  and,  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  opinion  is  so  current  in 
the  country  that  the  native  Indians  are  in  the  habit  of  passing,  freely  and  with- 
out difficulty,  between  the  Pacific  coast  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Atrato,  that  it 
probably  has  some  better  foundation  than  we  are  aware  of. 

Acting  upon  these  reports,  Mr.  Kelly  fitted  out  two  other  expeditions  in  the 
year  1854,  one  of  which,  under  Mr.  Lane,  was  despatched  to  the  Truando,  and 
the  other,  imder  Mr.  William  Keimish,  was  directed  to  commence  operations 
on  the  side  of  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Kelly's  instructions  to  Mr.  Kennish  were 
drawn  up  in  accordance  with  the  preceding  information.  He  was  to  follow  the 
coast  from  Point  Garachine  southward  to  7°  north  latitude,  (Cupica  bay  is  6° 
41'  19"  north,)  and  to  look  for  any  depression  in  the  range  of  the  Cordillera 
which  held  out  the  prospect  of  an  open  cut  without  resorting  to  locks,  and  on 
observing  any  such  place,  he  was  to  institute  a  thorough  survey,  for  which  the 
means  and  instruments  were  provided. 

Mr.  Kennish,  after  passing  the  bold  and  mountainous  region  to  the  north- 
ward of  Punta  Ardita,  met  with  a  remarkable  depression  opposite  that  portion 
of  the  coast  which  lies  to  the  southward  of  that  point,  and  between  it  and 
Punta  Marzo.  Mr.  Kennish  says  in  his  report:  "In  this  interval  the  country 
loses  its  mountainous  character  entirely,  and  assumes  the  appearance  of  a 
gradual  rise  or  slope,  with  hills  of  little  elevation  in  the  distance." 

Opposite  this  depression  of  the  Cordilleras,  he  discovered  an  inlet  not  before 
described,  but  now  known  as  Kelly's  inlet,  afiording  aonvenient  shelter  and 
anchorage,  into  which  the  Paracuchichi  empties  its  waters. 

Encouraged  by  these  favorable  conditions,  and  by  the  best  inlbrmation  he 
could  obtain  from  the  natives,  he  determined  to  cross  from  that  point  to  the 
Atrato  by  the  shortest  course.  The  party,  following  the  course  of  the  streams 
on  the  west  of  the  water-shed,  crossed  the  summit  at  a  height  of  five  hundred 
and  forty  (540)  feet,  and  descended  over  a  series  of  falls  to  the  Nerqua,  a 
tributary  of  the  Truando,  along  which  rivers  they  proceeded  to  the  Atrato. 
The  information  furnished  by  Mr,  Kennish's  survey,  particularly  tending  as  it 
did  to  strengthen  the  previous  reports  of  Humboldt  and  other  travellers,  was 
received  everywhere  with  attention. 

In  England,  the  subject  was  taken  up  by  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
and  by  the  Institution  for  Civil  Engineers,  and  freely  discussed  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. In  the  United  States'  the  government  thought  it  worth  while  to  ask  for 
a  special  appropriation  to  defray  the  expenses  of  an  expedition  to  the  same 
region  for  the  purpose  of  verifying  Mr.  Kennish's  explorations. 

This  expedition  was  placed  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  (now  Brigadier 
General)  Michler,  of  the  engineers,  and  Lieutenant  (the  late  lamented  Com- 
mander) T.  A.  Craven,  United  States  Navy ;  the  hydrographic  work  being 
assigned  to  the  latter,  and  "the  explorations  and  verification  of  surveys  already 
made  near  the  isthmus  of  Darien  to  the  former."  The  reports  of  Mr.  Kennish 
were  confirmed  in  all  essential  particulars  ;  but  beyond  this — and  what, 
perhaps,  is  more  important — General  Michler's  work  was  conducted  with  all  the 


INTEROCEANIC    KAILEOADS    AND    CANALS  19 

advantages  wliich  the  best  instruments  and  the  most  thorough  education  can 
confer.  His  topography  and  his  levels  furnish  us  with  a  complete  representation 
of  this  region,  reliable  in  all  its  details,  and  not  subject  to  any  of  those  painful 
doubts  which  belong  to  mere  reconnoissance  or  primary  exploration.  It  is  in 
the  highest  degree  satisfactory  to  know  precisely  what  we  are  to  expect  in  this 
part  of  the  Cordilleras,  which  has  given  rise  to  such  ardent  hopes  in  the  minds 
of  numerous  writers  and  explorers,  from  Humboldt  and  his  native  corre- 
spondents, who  first  drew  his  attention  in  this  direction,  down  to  Kelly  and 
Michler.  General  Michler,  it  is  very  interesting  to  know,  is  struck  with  the 
same  promising  but  deceptive  appearance  of  the  mountain  range  when  viewed 
from  the  ocean.  He  says  :  "In  looking  back  from  the  ocean  upon  the  country 
through  which  the  party  recently  travelled,  the  depression  in  the  Cordilleras 
becomes  plainly  visible.  It  seems,  in  reality,  to  lose  the  mountainous  character 
entirely,  and  assumes  the  character  of  a  gradual  rise  or  slope,  with  hills  of  little 
elevation  in  the  distance.  The  dense  growth  of  timber  which  mantles  the 
crests  of  the  hills  make  the  resemblance  to  a  low  flat  region  still  more  apparent; 
and  Avhen  beheld  from  a  little  distance  out  at  sea  the  view  must  be  still  more 
strikingly  so.  One  can  easily,  therefore,  conceive  why  a  preference  should  have 
been  shown  to  this  section  by  those  interested  in  explorations  of  a  route  for  a 
ship  canal."     (Report,  p.  93,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  9,  36th  Cong.,  2d  sess.,  Senate.) 

The  annexed  sheets,  numbered  XI  and  XII,  contain  the  map  and  profiles  of 
General  Michler's  line  of  survey,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Truaudo  to  Kelly's 
inlet.  This  map,  studied  in  connection  with  his  itinerary,  (pp.  49-99,  ibid.,) 
will  make  the  reader  thoroughly  acquainted  with  this  now  celebrated  isthmus 
of  Choco,  not  only  with  the  physical  geography,  geology,  natural  history,  &c., 
but  with  the  mode  of  travel  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people. 

Both  Trautwine  and  Michler  have,  through  their  experience,  given  xis  some 
important  lessons  upon  the  conduct  of  expeditionary  parties  in  these  regions. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  were,  in  spite  of  their  best  precautions,  exposed  to  con- 
siderable hardship  and  privation.  (See  their  reports,  'pcissim.)  I  shoixld  fail  to 
profit  by  these  lessons  if  I  were  not  to  point  out  the  necessity  for  providing 
all  future  surveying  and  exploring  expeditions  with  provisions  in  a  concentrated 
form.     This  is  a  matter  not  to  be  overlooked.  . 

Before  concluding  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I  must  not  omit  to  mention  au 
important  point  in  which  Trautwine  and  Michler  fully  concur,  and  that  is,  the 
docile  and  tractable  character  of  the  native  Indians.  Neither  of  them  had  any 
difficulty  in  securing  aid,  and  never  failed  to  receive  from  them  kindness  and 
good  will.  ''I  never,"  says  Trautwine,  "in  all  my  New  Granadian  experience, 
felt  myself  to  be  among  Ruffians.  Among  the  Indian  tribes  through  which  I 
passed,  I  laid  aside  my  pistols  and  armed  myself  with  a  pocketful  of  cigars. 
A  present  of  an  empty  sardine  box  was  more  effective  than  a  two-edged  sword ; 
and  a  lump  of  sugar  to  a  papoose  was  a  better  passport  than  my  government 
could  afford." 

The  greatest  regret  was  experienced  by  General  Michler  in  being  compelled 
to  part  with  two  of  his  native  assistants  who  had  been  long  with  him.  These 
statements  must  be  understood,  however,  to  apply,  to  the  Indians  of  the  valley 
of  the  Atrato,  and  not  to  those  of  the  isthmus  of  Darien  proper. 

COXCLUSION. 

We  get  the  idea  of  the  value  attached  to  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal 
across  the  American  isthmus — "the  mightiest  event,  probably,  in  favor  of  the 
peaceful  intercourse  of  nations  which  the  physical  circumstances  of  the  globe 
present  to  the  enterprise  of  man" — from  the  character  of  the  minds  which  have 
taken  an  interest  in  this  scheme,  as  well  as  from  the  number  of  projects  which 
have  been  offered  for  its  fulfilment.  Among  the  governing  minds  of  the  world 
which  have  recognized  the  conseq^uences  to  the  welfare  of  mankind  with  which 


20 


INTEROCEANIC    RA.ILROADS    AND    CANALS. 


this  undertaking  is  pregnant,  may  be  mentioned  that  of  Pitt.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered by  the  readers  of  diplomatic  history  that  the  plan  for  the  emancipation  of 
the  Spanish  colonies  from  the  mother  covintry,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Miranda 
and  his  associate  deputies  and  commissioners  and  presented  to  the  British  gov- 
ernment, contains  in  the  sixth  article  a  stipulation  for  the  opening  of  navigation 
between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  by  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  as  well  as 
by  Lake  Nicaragua.  This  document  is  dated  Paris,  December  22,  1797.  Mr. 
Pitt  entered  with  promptness  into  the  scheme. 

So,  also,  oiir  own  Jefferson  bestowed  his  thoughts  and  interest  upon  this  st^b- 
ject,  as  may  be  seen  in  more  than  one  of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Carmichael. 

In  one  of  them,  dated  Paris,  May  27,  17SS,  he  says  :  *  *  "With 
respect  to  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  I  am  assured  by  Burgoine  that  a  survey  was 
made  and  a  canal  appeared  very  practicable ;  but  the  idea  was  suppressed  for 
reasons  altogether  political.  He  has  seen  and  minutely  examined  the  report. 
Tliis  report  is  to  me  a  vast  desideratum,  for  reasons  political  and  philo- 
sophical."        *         *         (Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  2.) 


I  have  spoken  of  the  number  of  projects  which  have  been  off'ered  to  the 
world.  Including  canals  and  roads  they  amount  in  all  to  twenty-six,  (26,)  as 
shown  by  the  following  tables,  taken  principally  from  Malte  Bran,  (fils.) 


TABLES 


I.. 
II. 


III. 


V  . 


^ 

s 

bc 

1-5 

fcr 

f^ 

\     ^ 

2 

cs  • 

Ifl 

<A 

g] 

^ 

0) 

a 

lp=i 

h^  L 

IV Panama 


L.  Mana- 
gua. 

R.  Cha- 


Darien 


Rio  Atra- 
to. 


CANALS. 

.  1 .  Tehuantepec,  by  the  Coatzacoalcos  and  Ohicapa. 
.2.  Honduras. 

3.  R.  San  Carlos,  G.  de  Nicoya. 

4.  R.  Nino,  Tempisque,  G.  de  Nicoya. 

5.  R.  Sapoa  B.  Salinas. 

6.  San  Juan  del  Sur. 

7.  Brito. 

8.  R.  Tamarinda. 

9.  P.  Realejo. 

10.  B.  Fonseca. 

11.  Gorgona,  Panama. 

12.  Trinidad,  Caymito. 

13.  Navy  Bay,  R.  Chagres,  R.  Bonito,  R.  Bernardo 

14.  San  Bias,  R.  Chepo. 

15.  B.  Caledonia,  G.  San  Miguel. 

16.  Rs.  Arguia,  Paya,  Tuyra,  G.  San  Miguel, 

17.  R.  Napipi,  Cupica. 

1 8.  R.  Truando,  Kelley's  I. 

19.  R.  Tuyra,  G.  Uraba  or  R.  Atrato. 

ROADS. 


I. — Coatzacoalcos,  Tehuantepec. 
II. — B.  Honduras  to  G.  of  Fonseca. 
III. — R.  San  Juan,  Nicaragua,  Managua,  G.  of  Fonseca. 
IV. — Port  Limon  to  Caldera,  Costa  Rica. 
V. — Chiriqui  inlet  to  Golfo  Dulce. 
VI. — Aspinwall,  Panama,  (railroad  finished.) 
VII. — Gorgon  B.,  Realejo.  ) 

VIII.—Gorgoft  B.,  San  Juan  Del  Sur.  ) 


Nicarajrua. 


INTEROCEANIC    SAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  21 

I  have  adopted  Malte  Bruu's  general  classification  as  being  in  fact  the  natural 
one.  It  begins  with  Tehuantepec  and  ends  with  Darien  and  the  Atrato.  I 
have,  in  the  preceding  pages,  considered  each  one  of  these  general  lines  sepa- 
rately, and  presented  an  accurate  profile,  and  in  some  cases  both  map  and 
profile  of  each,  on  a  scale  sufficiently  large  to  be  perfectly  intelligible.  Ample 
data- are  furnished  for  estimating  distances,  heights,  summit  levels,  and  locks, 
where  locks  form  part  of  the  plan ;  and,  in  general,  for  answering  all  the  inqui- 
ries of  the  resolution.  I  have  reported  upon  "their  relative  merits  as  practicable 
lines  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal,"  and  it  now  remains  for  me  to  express 
an  opinion  whether  "the  isthmus  of  Darien  has  been  satisfactorily  explored." 

The  isthmus  of  Darien  has  not  been  satisfactorily  explored.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  line  of  survey  from  Chepo  to  San  Bias,  the  knowledge  of  which, 
through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Kelly,  is  first  given  to  the  world  in  'this  report, 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  explorations  of  Pre  vest  and  Gisborne,  and  the 
solitary  and  unrecorded,  and  therefore  unsatisfactory  journeys  of  Dr.  Cullen,* 
the  interior  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  east  of  the  Panama  railroad,  is  almost  a 
terra  incognita. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  when  it  is  considered  that  this  is  the  part  of  the  con- 
tinent first  settled,  and  that  it  has  always  commanded  the  greatest  attention  on 
account  of  this  very  question  now  before  us,  yet  it  is  strictly  true,  with  the  ex- 
ceptions above,  that  the  best  knowledge  we  possess  of  the  istlimus  is  dsrived 
from  the  journals  of  Dampier  and  his  companions,  from  the  reports  of  Pater- 
son,  and  from  the  brief  journal,  already  quoted,  of  Sfilla. 

There  does  not  exist  in  the  libraries  of  the  world  the  means  of  determining, 
even  approximately,  the  most  practicable  route  for  a  ship  canal  across  the 
isthmus.  Our  really  authentic  information  amounts  to  this — that  at  that  part 
of  the  American  isthmus  where  the  oceans  approach  each  other,  nature  has 
supplied  harbors  of  unsurpassed  excellence  on  both  sides,  and  navigable  rivers 
that  invite  the  traveller  to  penetrate  into  the  wilderness  ;  while  on  one  side  she 
has  established  a  tidal  condition  in  the  highest  degree  favorable  to  the  needs  of 
a  commerce  which  traverses  the  great  seas.  In  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
this  isthmus  is  a  country  (of  which  it  forms,  a  part)  possessing  features  that 
give  it  eminence  among  the  nations.  It  has  good  ports  on  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans ;  it  is  mistress  of  the  isthmuses  of  Panama  and  Darien,  which 
already  enjoy  great  importance  in  the  world's  commerce,  and  are  destined 
hereafter  to  acquire  still  more  ;  it  has  great  agricultural  resources  ;  while  in  its 
physico-geographical  structure  it  embraces  valleys  traversed  by  noble  rivers  ; 
table-lands,  at  different  elevations,  that  afford  a  variety  of  climate  and  produc- 
tions ;  and  mountains  in  which  still  lies  buried  an  incalculable  amount  of  mineral 
wealth,  and  at  the  foot  of  which  the  native  Indian,  with  the  rudest  means  and 
appliances,  collects,  in  a  few  hours,  gold  enough  to  enable  him  to  pass  weeks 
or  months  in  indolence  and  diversion. 

It  is  to  the  isthmus  of  Darien  that  we  are  first  to  look  for  the  sohition  of  the 
great  problem  of  an  interoceanic  canal.  We  know  enough  of  the  interior  to- 
pography to  adopt  the  view  of  Dr.  Cullen,  that  if  we  leave  the  Indian  trail, 
which  always  passes  over  the  highest  ground,  and  .explore  the  country  beyond 
the  ordinary  line  of  travel,  we  shall  probably  find  a  valley  transversely  divid- 
ing the  Cordilleras,  or  at  least  a  lower  ridge  than  any  yet  surveyed.  Our  most 
trustworthy  engineers  in  these  regions,  Trautwine,  Michler,  Prevost,  i\IcDougal, 
and  others,  tell  us  that  it  is  impossible,  from  the  very  limited  inspection  of  the 
country  taken  on  the  Indian  line  of  tra-^l,  to  form  any  conception  of  the  nature 
of  the  ground  even  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  This  is  owing  to  the  unbroken  ' 
forest  of  heavy  timber,  of  which  Paterson  gives  an  idea  in  the  first  letter  to  the 
directors,  in  the  following  words  :  "The  hills  are  clothed  with  tall  trees  without 
any  underwood,  so  that  one  may  gallop  conveniently  among  them  many  miles , 

*  Not  only  unsatisfactory;  but  it  is  my  duty  to  say,  even  doubtful. 


22  INTEEOCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

free  from  sun  and  rain,  unless  of  a  great  continuance." — (Dalrymple,  ubi  supra.) 
But  there  is  also  abundant  evidence  in  the  accounts  of  our  most  recent  ex- 
plorers that  there  is  to  be  found,  in  many  places,  a  dense  and  tangled  under- 
wood, which  adm.its  of  no  progress  except  by  removal.  The  future  surveyors 
must,  therefore,  go  prepared  to  encounter  this  as  well  as  other  difficulties. 
There  are  two  provisions  which  appear  to  me  indispensable  in  future  expeditions  : 
First,  rations,  in  a  concentrated  and  portable  form,  to  enable  the  surveyors  to 
prosecute  their  investigations  at  leisure. 

Secondly,  the  means  of  removing  the  undergrowth  and  clearing  the  way  for 
pioneers  ;  and  for  this  latter  purpose  a  corps  of  native  Indians  may  be  employed 
with  their  machetes,  and  fire  may  be  resorted  to,  as  suggested  by  Fitz  Roy. 

I  have  added  to  this  report  some  statistical  tables,  (Appendix  No.  I,)  derived 
almost  entirely  from  Mr.  Kelly's  publications,  showing  the  advantages  of  this 
canal,  so  far  as  those  advantages  can  be  displayed  by  statistics  merely.  Statis- 
tics, however,  constitute  the  framework  which,  to  be  correctly  understood,  must 
be  filled  up  with  all  that  creates  symmetry,  progress,  and  life.  Besides,  these 
figures  are  necessarily  limited  to  the  existing  state  ot  traffic  and  intercourse,  or, 
rather,  to  that  which  did  exist  before  the  commerce  of  the  country  was  disturbed 
by  the  rebellion. 

If  the  distance  between  the  nearest  continent  and  the  most  ancient  seat  of 
human  life  were  diminished  by  one-half,  ard  if,  in  addition  to  this,  the  voyages 
between  the  two  hemispherps  were  rendered  much  less  hazardous  and  difficult, 
such  an  interchange  of  their  production  and  labor  would  take  place  as  it  is  now 
impossible  to  imagine.  Already  the  remote  colonies  of  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  are  eager  to  profit  by  the  advantages  of  this  newer  and  shorter  line  of 
communication.  In  1863,  the  postmaster  general  of  New  Zealand  arrived  in 
England  empowered  to  offer  =£30,000  per  annum,  from  the  1st  of  January,  1864, 
for  four  years,  as  a  contribution  toward  carrying  out  a  steam  line  via  the  Cen- 
tral American  isthmus.  New  South  Wales  agreed  to  vote  .£50,000  sterling  per 
annum  for  the  same  service*     (Pim.,  p.  374,  note.) 

It  is  from  a  like  point  of  view  that  we  are  led  into  the  contemplation  of  the 
grandeur  of  the  project  for  uniting'  the  two  oceans.  But  as  a  consequence  of 
its  importance  and  general  interest  to  the  commerce  of  the  whole  world,  it  is 
our  duty  to  collect  and  collate  all  authentic  information  before  proceeding  to  the 
execution  of  such  an  undertaking.  We  must  remember  that  we  are  about  to 
construct  a  work  that  not  only  must  satisfy  the  necessities  of  the  moment,  but 
must  be  suited  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  future,  and  be  useful  to  all  coming  ages. 
The  interoceanic  canal,  in  width,  depth,  in  supply  of  water,  in  good  anchor- 
age and  secure  harbors  at  both  ends,  and  in  absolute  freedom  from  obstruction 
by  lifting  locks  or  otherwise,  must  possess,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  character 
of  a  strait.  It  may  be  thought  premature  to  say  that  the  time  has  arrived  for 
its  execution.  But  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  present  opportunity  is  the 
most  favorable  that  could  possibly  arise  for  conducting,  on  our  part,,  the  pre- 
liminary surveys  without  interruption,  interference,  or  unwelcome  participation. 
A  list  of  the  principal  authorities  relating  to  projects  of  interoceanic  com- 
munication through  the  American  isthmuses  is  appended  hereto  for  the  conve- 
nience of  those  who  may  have  occasion  to  look  into  this  subject  either  more 
fully  or  more  comprehensively  than  is  consistent  with  the  prescribed  limits  and 
objects  of  this  report. 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Rear -Admiral,  Supei-intendcnt. 
United  States  Naval  Observatory, 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  10,  1866. 

*  While  this  report  is  passing  through  the  press  we  see  that  a  new  line  of  mail  packets, 
subsiJized  by  the  government  of  New  Zealand,  has  been  established  between  Panama  and 
Wellington,  making  monthly  departures  from  Panama  about  the  24th  of  each  month,  or  on 
the  arrival  of  the  mail  from  Southampton. 


INTEEOCEANIC  RAILROADS  AND  CANALS.  23 

ADDENDA  TO  THE  EDITION  ORDERED  BY  THE  SENATE  RESOLUTION  OF 

FEBRUARY  9,  1867. 

United  States  Naval  Observatory, 

March  14,  1867. 
The  present  edition  of  the  report  on  interoceauic  railroads  and  canals  has  re- 
ceived the  valuable  addition  of  an  old  Spanish  map  based  on  surveys  executed 
between  the  years  1780  and  1790,  accompanied  by  a  descriptive  memoir,  in  the 
form  of  a  report,  from  the  Goveriior  of  the  Province,  by  whom  the  surveys  were 
made. 

The  existence  of  such  a  map  was  communicated  some  time  ago  to  Major 
General  R.  Delafield,  at  tbat  time  Chief  Engineer  of  the  army.  The  present 
copy  was  obtained  througb  Hon.  J.  P.  Hale,  our  minister  at  the  court  of  Madrid, 
by  the  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State,  at  the  request  of  General 
Delafield.  It  has  just  been  received,  and  I  am  permitted  by  Major  General  A.  A. 
Humphreys,  now  Chief  of  Engineers  of  the  army  of  the  United  States,  to  whom 
I  am  under  great  obligation  for  this  favor,  to  add  the  map  and  descriptive  me- 
moir to  this  edition. 

In  order  to  preserve  all  the  evidences  of  its  authenticity,  I  present  this  map 
precisely  in  the  form  in  which  it  came  into  my  hands,  without  any  change  what- 
ever— without  even  the  translation  of  the  title  ;  the  latter  is,  however,  translated 
in  the  descriptive  memoir. 

A  few  remarks  will  serve  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  character 
and  objects  of  this  map,  and  to  point  out  several  details  of  special  interest.  I 
shall  pursue  here  the  rule  laid  down  in  the  beginning  of  this  report,  of  confining 
myself  strictly  to  its  subject-matter.  Accordingly,  without  entering  into  historic 
details  the  most  important  of  which  will  be  found  briefly  stated  in  Fitz  Roy's 
second  memoir,  and  all  of  Avhich  will  be  found  at  length  in  the  valuable  essay 
of  M.  Chevalier.  I  will  content  myself  with  reminding  the  reader  that  notwith- 
standing Darien  was  the  seat  of  the  first  Spanish  settlement,  and  notwithstanding 
the  pains  taken  from  time  to  time  to  multiply  and  strengthen  their  position,  yet 
the  Spaniards  were  never  really  masters  of  this  particular  isthmus.  They 
built  strongholds,  they  increased  the  number  of  their  colonists,  they  opened 
mines,  they  introduced  missionaries,  and  they  covered  the  coasts  with  their 
men-of-war ;  still  they  never  arrived  at  complete  and  undisputed  possessin  of 
the  whole  isthmus.  Not  only  were  they  harassed  by  the  continual  incursions 
of  the  buccaneers  and  the  English  roving  cruisers,  but  they  were  compelled  to 
maintain  constantly  renewed  hostilities  with  the  aboriginal  tribes  dwelling  along 
the  northern  coast,  on  the  Cordilleras,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Chucunaque. 
These  aborigines  are  called,  in  the  Spanish  documents,  Chucunaaud  Chucunaque 
Indians,  and  are  distinguished  in  our  day  by  the  title  of  bravos.  This  warfare 
was  raging  when  Don  Andres  de  Ariza  Avas  appointed  Governor  of  Darien,  and 
established  the  military  post  of  Fuerte  del  Principe. 

The  following  description  of  the  province  of  Darien  or  Great  Golden  Castile, 
and  the  appended  map  of  which  it  is  an  explanation,  are  the  results  of  the  offi- 
cial labors  of  Governor  de  Ariza,  performed  under  the  orders  of  his  excellency 
the  viceroy,  Don  Manual  Flores,  in  the  year  1781.  The  character  of  the  map 
and  metfioir  corresponds  to  the  political  state  of  the  country.  It  is  a  military 
map,  and  treats  of  militarj^  events;  it  marks  the  sites  of  fortified  places,  of  gar- 
risons, and  of  Indian  incursions  ;  it  describes  military  movements,  and  treats  at 
length  of  the  means  of  general  defence  of  the  whole  province,  and  of  the  measures 
necessary  to  restrain  or  repel  the  assaults  of  the  savages. 

It  bears  its  official  stamp  on  every  part  of  it  in  its  historical  and  topographical 
details,  as  well  as  in  its  precise  statistics  of  population  and  production.  The 
recital  of  the  frequent  massacres  that  had  recently  taken  place  reveals  the  actual 


24  INTEEOCEANIC   RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

condition  of  things,  and,  at  the  same  time,  supplies  internal  evidence  of  the  care 
and  fidelity  with  which  the  author  executed  his  task. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  cross-roads  and  of  the  descriptive  enumeration 
of  so  many  different  places.  One  or  two  of  these  descriptions  whet  our  curiosity, 
and  excite  the  wish  that  our  author  had  added  a  few  more  words  of  explanation. 
When  he  announces  in  his  account  of  the  cross-road  A  A,  the  discovery  of  "  the 
narrow  neck  which  divides  the  port  of  the  Caledonia  on  the  north  from  that  of 
the  Savana  on  the  south,"  we  feel  an  eager  desire  to  see  the  door,  to  which  he 
has  barely  pointed,  opened  wide.  His  description  of  the  road  C.  C.  C.  C,  as 
"level,  and  suitable  for  wheels  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Sucubti,"  whence  "it 
is  easy  to  cross  to  the  coast  with  beasts  of  burden  ;"  and  of  the  portage  or  slope 
/i"  7i"  from  the  river  of  "  Balsos  to  the  river  Jurado,  by  means  of  which  small 
canoes  pass  from  one  river  to  the  other ;"  and  the  subsequent  enumeration  of  the 
passes  from  the  foot  of  the  Cordilleras  on  one  side  to  the  plains  on  the  other,  all 
point  out  to  us  the  scenes  of  future  explorations,  and  encourage  the  hope  that  in 
some  one  of  these  localities  we  may  discover  the  very  object  of  our  ardent  longings. 

Ariza  in  some  of  these  passages  is  so  near  to  important  developments,  and  yet 
so  reticent,  that  his  conduct  seems  to  require  some  explanation ;  and  we  think 
we  may  find  that  explanation  in  the  peremptory  interdiction  by  the  Spanish 
government  of  any  allusion  to  or  discussion  of  a  project  of  an  interoceanic  Avater 
communication. 

This  interdiction  is  contained  in  the  decree  of  Philip  II,  referred  to  by  Alcedo 
in  his  Geographical  and  Historical  Dictionary  of  the  West  Indies,  (see  Fitz  Roy's 
Jour.  R.  Geog.  Soc,  vol.  xxiii,)  I  am  not  aware  that  it  was  removed  during 
the  control  of  the  Spanish  government.  For  further  information  on  this  point, 
and  on  the  "  Secret  du  Detroit,"  see  Humboldt,  E.  P ;  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes, 
1844 ;  L'Isthme  de  Panama,  par  Michel  Chevalier ;  and  Annales  des  Voyages, 
6™«,  serie  9,  10;  "  Different s  Projets,"  &c.,  par  V.  A.  Malte-Brun. 

This  concludes  all  I  have  to  say  at  present  concerning  the  details  of  the  map 
and  memoir  and  their  mutual  correspondence.  I  have  added  to  the  border  of 
the  map  a  sketch  of  a  route  suggested  by  Ariza's  map,  and  recommended  for 
special  investigation. 

C.  H.  DAVIS, 
Rear-Admiral  U.  S.  N.,  Superintendent. 


Description  of  the  inovince  of  Darien,  or  Great  Golden  Castile,  being  an  explan- 
ation of  the  map  of  the  interior  of  this  provinee,  and  of  the  new  discoveries 
made  hy  the  Governor,  Don  Andres  de  Ariza.  Reduced  and  revised  hy  him 
by  order  of  his  Excellency  the  Viceroy,  Scnor  Don  Manuel  Antonio  Florcs,  in 
the  year  1781.* 

The  village  of  Yavisa  is  the  capital  of  the  province,  and  contains  a  fort  in 
which  reside  the  governor  and  a  garrison  of  eighty  men.  It  was  built  in  the 
year  1760  to  restrain  the  incursions  of  the  savage  Indians  of  Chucunaque,  which 
were  put  a  stop  to  by  this  means. 

The  village  of  Darien,  or  Santa  Maria  dc  la  Antigua,  was  the  capital  in  this 
year  1760.  It  contained,  at  the  most,  three  hundred  and  eleven  inhabitants  and 
a  fort  with  a  garrison  of  six  men.  It  is  the  depot  of  the  canoe  trade,  and  is  at 
present  the  place  most  conveniently  situated  for  this  purpose. 

*GENEnAL  Office  of  Achives  in  Saville. 
This  map  and  descriptlou  is  copied  from  the  originals  contained  in  a  paclcage  marked 
"  council  of  Panama."     Despatches  relating  to  "  Darien  and  Caledonia  from  the  year  J 772 
to  the  year  1787,"  found  in  the  portfolio  marked  "general  plan  of  the  isthmus  accompany- 
ing the  annexed  despatch  of  the  yeai'  1786." 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  25 

The  village  of  Cana  was,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  richest  and 
largest  one  in  the  province.  It  is  now  reduced  to  seventy-eight  inhabitants,  at 
the  most,  including  twenty  who  compose  the  garrison  of  the  fort.  The  temper- 
ature is  cool,  and  the  rich  mines  of  Espiritu  Santo  are  situated  in  this  vicinity. 

The  village  of  Fueuty  is  composed  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  inhabi- 
tants, at  the  most.     South  of  it  extend  the  mines  of  Froncoso  and  many  others. 

The  fort  of  Chapigana,  and  village  of  the  same  name,  comprise  a  family  of 
twenty-five  men. 

The  fort  of  Setegante  contains  a  garrison  of  twenty  men.  It  was  built  in 
that  place  in  the  year  1779,  to  restrain  the  incursions  which  the  before-men- 
tioned savages  of  Ohucunaque  made  upon  the  trading  canoes. 

The  fort  of  the  island  of  Boca  Chica  has  a  garrison  of  twelve  men.  It  was 
attacked  while  under  construction,  in  the  year  1777,  by  more  than  eighty  of  these 
savage  Indians  of  Chucunac^ue,  who  were  repulsed  by  eight  soldiers,  only,  who 
came  to  the  aid  of  the  Avorkmen. 

This  island  of  Boca  Chica  is  about  two  miles  long  and  less  than  one  broad ; 
is  very  conveniently  situated  for  a  fortified  city ;  enjoys  a  cool  and  healthy 
climate  ;  and  is  the  entrance  to  the  whole  interior  of  the  province.  There  is  no 
other  available  passage  or  accessible  place  by  which  the  armies  of  the  Crown 
can  make  an  attack  on  account  of  the  extensive  mangroves  that  overrun  the 
shore  which  is  not  mountainous  or  rugged. 

All  the  rivers  which  fertilize  the  province  on  this  side  of  the  Coi'dilleras  dis- 
charge themselves  in  this  place  through  two  passages.  There  are  two  exten- 
sive bays  :  one  within  the  river,  more  than  ten  miles  long  and  three  broad, 
and  the  other  outside,  of  the  same  dimensions,  more  or  less,  where  vessels  of  war 
can  anchor  under  the  protection  of  the  guns. 

Both  inside  and  outside,  at  the  same  distance,  there  are  other  islands  of  agree- 
able aspect  and  admirable  proportions  suitable  for  powder  magazines,  and  other 
buildings  such  as  ought  to  be  placed  beyond  the  risks  of  a  town. 

Within  these  bays  are  found  stone  quarries  and  timber  adapted  for  large 
works;  and- in  one  word  this  is  the  spot  to  which,  on  account  of  its  situation 
and  surroundings,  the  Government  should  devote  its  whole  attention  if  it  wishes 
to  preserve  this  valuable  isthmus. 

The  province  possesses  two  avenues  of  hostile  approach  :  one,  the  Boca  Chica 
just  mentioned ;  the  other,  Caledonia  bay,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  no  less  ex- 
posed. It  seems  to  me'that  there  is  no  other  country  in  the  world  better  pro- 
tected from  attacks  or  landings,  and  if  it  were  suitably  fortified  at  each  of  the 
before-mentioned  avenues  two  thousand  men  could  repel  a  force  of  more  than 
twenty  thousand ;  and  if  the  enemy  should  fail  to  make  himself  master  of  both 
posts  at  the  same  time  he  would  not  be  able  to  communicate  between  the  two 
seas.  It  is  true  that  a  superior  force  might  effect  a  landing  in  the  gulf  on  the 
north  or  inside  of  the  Mulata  islands,  but  to  undertake  to  get  possession  of  the 
general  Cordillera  through  any  other  point  than  Caledonia  bay  would  be  an  act 
of  rashness  that  would  surely  meet  with  punishment. 

One  natural  feature  very  much  to  be  admired  is  the  narrowness  of  Boca  Chica 
on  approaching  it;  and  in  the  summer  season,  in  which  the  river  has  no  freshets, 
a  certain  music  is  heard  continually  at  the  bottom  of  the  passage,  which  the 
natives  call  the  organs ;  and  throughout  the  whole  of  this  locality  an  extended 
organ,  as  it  were,  is  heard,  played  below,  the  sound  of  which  is  very  pleasant, 
and  at  the  san\e  time  the  water  seems  to  boil,  sending  up  bubbles  Avhich  break 
away  from  the  bottom,  and  encounter  the  boat  without  being  seen.  I  have 
observed  this  very  particularly,  and  my  only  conclusion  has  been  that  the  bed 
of  the  river,  which  is  rocky  in  that  part,  is  like  a  sieve,  and  that  some  aerial  cur- 
rent breathes  through  the  holes,  and,  playing  upon  the  water,  causes  this  sound. 

The  village  of  Pinogana  contains  two  hundred  and  four  inhabitants,  most  of 
them  friendly  Indians,  who,  a  short  time  ago,  became  converts.     They  are 


26  INTEROCEANIC    EAILROADS    AND    CANALS 

much  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  gather  large  quantities  of  phiutain  and  some 
cocoa. 

Moliueca  contains  eighty  inhabitants,  most  of  them  the  same  Indians. 

Fichiche  contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  inhabitants,  most  of  them 
these  very  same  Indians  ;  and  each  of  these  villages  contains  large  canoes,  used 
in  exporting  their  fruits  to  Panama. 


1.  The  creek  of  the  graceful  turn. — In  this  creek,  in  the  month  of  October, 
1778,  the  Indians  of  the  Chucunaque  lay  in  ambush,  and  with  a  squadron  of 
eight  pirogues  made  a  sudden  attack  upon  two  canoes  from  Fichiche ;  these, 
however,  combined  the  crews  of  both  in  one,  and,  with  five  muskets,  forced  a 
passage  and  cleared  themselves  from  the  Indians,  who  were  more  than  eighty 
in  number. 

2.  The  locality  of  Chapigana. — Here  the  same  Indians,  in  the  year  1777, 
killed  or  carried  off  alive  an  inhabitant  of  this  village. 

3.  The  creek  of  Setegante. — Here  the  same  Indians  lay  in  ambush  in  the 
month  of  July,  1778,  and,  with  the  same  squadron  of  pirogues,  seized  a  canoe 
which  was  going  to  Panama,  laden  with  fruit,  killing  at  the  river  one  of  the  men 
who  had  not  the  courage  to  escape  with  the  rest  of  the  crew. 

4.  5,  6,  7,  8,  Farms  (haciendas)  at  the  entrance  of  the  province  which  are 
in  ruins  from  incursions  by  the  same  Indians. 

9.  The  river  Congo,  the  population  of  which  was  massacred  in  the  year  1768 
by  these  very  Indians,  from  which  time  this  beautiful  country  has  remained 
a  wilderness. 

10.  Port  Ypelisa. — Its  garrison,  consisting  of  five  men,  was  massacred  in  the 
same  year  (1768)  by  the  same  Indians  of  Chucunaque,  who  came  from  Cale- 
donia, along  the  coast  as  far  as  the  villages  at  the  marshy  ground  of  Tigre  and 
Arguilla,  and  invited  the  Indians  of  that  vicinity  to  take  part  with  them,  Avhicli 
the  latter  refused  to  do  except  so  far  as  to  allow  them  to  pass. 

The  Caledonians,  after  having  done  the  mischief,  retired  by  a  different  route ; 
heading  several  rivers,  and  descending  the  Chucunaque,  they  were  attacked  in- 
cidentally by  the  friendly  Indians  of  Ficheche,  who  were  not  able  to  inflict  any 
other  injury  than  to  deprive  them  of  a  small  boat  containing  the  spoils  of  arms 
and  tools  which  they  had  plundered  from  Ypelisa  ;  these  were  kept  in  Ficheche 
to  assist  the  transports  from  Cana. 

11.  River  Fayequa  or  de  la  Marca. — The  population  Avas  massacred  in  the 
year  1774  by  the  same  Indians  of  Chucunaque.  The  mineral  streams  of  Bagre 
are  situated  in  this  depopulated  vicinity. 

12.  The  river  of  Yavisa. — Its  population,  composed  of  friendly  Indians,  was 
massacred  in  the  year  1756  by  these  same  rebels,  and  afterwards  in  1772  they 
placed  an  ambush  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  kill  my  predecessor,  Bobadilla, 
who  was  in  the  habit  of  going  to  bathe  there ;  he  omitted  it  on  that  day  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  St.  Joseph's  day.  But  the  savages  exercised  their  cruelty 
by  killing  a  female  servant  and  a  soldier  of  the  garrison,  and  they  carried  off 
a  girl,  who  is  now  in  Tamanaca.     This  river  Avas  depopulated  by  these  events. 

13.  Point  Mudmtuhugu. — This  was  cut  through  in  the  year  1779  to  shorten 
the  navigation  of  the  river,  and  to  remove  certain  favorable  circumstances  of 
which  the  Indians  availed  themselves.  When  pursued  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  placing  here  their  advance  sentinels. 

14.  Port  of  Laloma,  in  the  river  Chucunaque,  occupied  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  the  English  during  the  present  war.  This  was  burned  by  the  Indians 
of  the  river,  in  the  month  of  October,  during  the  past  year,  and  has  ever  since 
been  abandoned. 

a.  a.  Pass  or  cross-road,  followed  by  these  Indians  in  their  attack  on  this  last 
place,  which  was  unknown  until  discovered  in  the  sortie  of  the  month  of  March, 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  27 

of  this  year,  when,  fortunately,  was  also  f'ouucl  the  narrow  neck  of  this  part  of 
America  which  divides  tlie  port  of  Caledonia  on  the  north  from  that  of  the  Sa- 
vana  on  the  south. 

b.  b.  b.  b.  Cross-road,  v.'-hich  the  savages  of  Chucanaqne  made  use  of  to  carry  on 
their  hostilities  at  the  entrance  of  the  province,  in  the  light  boats  mentioned  be- 
fore. These  boats  were  constructed  in  the  creek  of  Yglesias.  I  broke  them  up 
in  December,  1779,  up  to  which  time  the  road  had  been  unknown  to  us.  Since 
then  their  hostilities  have  ceased,  but  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  were  so  ter- 
rified that  they  were  eager  to  abandon  it,  and  would  have  done  so  if  I  had  not 
exerted  myself  personally  to  deprive  the  Indians  of  this  force. 

C.  C.  C.  0.  A  road  recently  discovered  leading  from  the  port  of  Savana  to  that 
of  Caledonia.  It  is  level,  and  suitable  for  wheels  as  tar  as  the  mouth  of  the 
Sucubte,  and  from  here  it  is  easy  to  cross  to  the  coast  with  beasts  of  burden. 

C  a.  District  of  Coco  Bolo,  where  the  wood  has  been  recently  cut  by  the  sav- 
ages. From  tins  point,  I  corrected  the  return  route  from  the  mouth,  of  the  Su- 
cubte. 

d.  d.  Sliort  cut  from  the  bend  of  Tnpira  to  the  islands  of  Fichicht. — a  jo\xruey 
of  two  hours. 

e.  e.  e.  e.  Short  cut  from  Yavisa  to  the  villages  of  Pinoganaand  Molireca.  It  has 
been  mentioned  three  times  that  the  savages  carried  on  hostilities  against  these 
towns  through  these  paths  before  the  village  and  fort  of  Yavisa  were  erected  as 
a  defence. 

f.  f.  f.  f.  Path  from  the  village  of  Darien  tu  Cana.  This  is  a  journey  of  two 
days,  in  which  are  encountered  many  small  rivers  intercepting  the  way,  especially 
th(;  river  Cupe,  which  in  its  various  turns  is  passed  sixteen  times.  The  journey 
is  not,  however,  interrupted  by  the  freshets,  which  are  drained  off  as  rapidly  as 
they  accumulate. 

g.  Plantation,  or  rocky  notch,  whence  the  great  river  of  Tuqua  issues  and 
begins  its  lower  course. 

h.  h.  Cross-road,  or  portage,  discovered  in  the  year  1777,  from  the  river  of 
Balsos  to  the  river  Jurado,  by  means  of  which  small  canoes  pass  from  one  river 
to  the  other  to  travel  along  the  coast  of  Choco  and  to  the  new  port  of  Cupeca  ; 
they  are  not  able  to  make  the  usual  voyage  in  the  winter  on  account  of  the 
rapidity  of  the  currents  and  the  roughness  of  the  sea. 

Rircrs  which  facilitate  the  crosning  of'  the  Cordillera  from  the  south  to  the  north- 

The  Arquali  affords  a  pass  to  Navigaudi  on  the  coast  of  Caledonia ;  the  Yub- 
lugaude,  for  the  same  ;  the  Sucubte,  to  Caledonia  ;  the  Chuety,  the  same  ;  the 
Tuquesa,  to  the  beach  of  Caresand  to  Armira  ;  the  Tupisa,  to  the  river  Gande  ; 
the  Yavisa,  to  the  Tarena  and  to  Cuty ;  the  Puero  and  Paya,  to  the  marshes  of 
Tigres  and  Arquilla ;  the  Pcnusa,  to  Yoo,  Cacarica  and  Motete  ;  the  Moleti,  to 
Sasardi. 

The  headwaters  of  the  Chucuuaque  spread  themselves  over  level  ground,  and 
approach  a  branch  of  the  Chepo,  so  that  small  canoes  pass  from  one  to  the  other 
by  means  of  a  portage  which  divides  them.  The  flood-tide  ascends  the  rivers 
of  this  province  up  to  the  points  marked  -f ,  which  is  very  convenient  for  trans- 
ports regulating  their  journey  by  the  periods  of  the  tide.  The  tidal  currents 
are  very  strong  in  these  rivers,  being  equal  to  any  freshet,  and  accordingly  it  is 
said  that  the  rivers  of  this  province  run  up  further  than  their  natural  limits. 

In  general,  the  rivers  that  receive  the  tide  overflow  their  banks  more  or  less, 
according  to  their  proximity  to  the  sea. 

All  the  rivers  which  fertilize  the  soil  are  without  tide,  and  arc  remarkable  for 
their  being  covered  with  all  sorts  of  timber  from  their  very  mouths. 

This  country  abounds  in  woods  suited  for  public  works  and  dwellings,  and  the 
materials  are  easily  transported  from  the  mountains,  through  the  numerous  creeks, 


28 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 


raviaes,  aud  rivers  wliick  empty  iato  the  principal  streams.  Wherever  the  tide 
enters,  large  vessels  of  the  size  of  frigates  can  be  built  with  facility,  and  launched 
from  the  stocks  without  the  expense  of  ways,  solely  by  the  help  of  the  tide, 
which  rises  more  than  three  fathoms,  (toises.) 

All  these  mountains  and  river  valleys  are,  in  general,  full  of  native  gold  ores, 
particularly  the  mountains  of  Espiritu  Santo,  from  which  it  has  been  taken  in 
such  abundance  as  to  be  mea.-Jured  by  the  half  bushel,  and  weighed  by  the  hun- 
dred weight. 

Although  the  territory  of  the  province  is  somewhat  mountainous,  it  has,  never- 
theless, extensive  valleys  on  both  sides  of  the  Cordilleras,  which  is  here,  for  the 
most  part,  narrow,  and  of  little  elevation ;  the  climate  is  good,  and  the  fertility 
of  soil  excellent  for  cultivation  or  grazing. 

All  the  rivers,  river  mouths,  aud  marshes,  which  are  numbered  for  reference 
in  the  text,  are  enlarged  for  practical  uses,  and  are  not  in  themselves  mathematically 
correct.  The  red  numbers  on  the  Indian  rivers  denote  the  number  of  men  able 
to  bear  arms  (armas)  hi  each  case.  The  black  figures  denote  the  number  of 
cocoa  trees  in  the  year  1761. 

ANDRES  DE  ARIZA. 

Yavisa,  October  28,  1781. 


Iph :  Dias  Pedregal. 


There  is  a  sign  manual. 
3JIAS  PEDRBGAL. 


Appendix  No.  I, 

Containing  several  tables  compiled  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Kelly,  and  designed  to 
present  a  general  view  of  some  of  the  immediate  results  of  a  canal  through  the 
isthmus. 

Table  of  the  saving  in  distance  from  New  York  to  the  following  jplaces,  by  the 
isthmus  of  Pa7iama,  over  the  Cape  routes. 


From  New  Yoik  to — 


Calcutta 

Canton 

Shanghai 

Valparaiso 

Callao 

Guayaquil 

Panama 

San  Bias 

Mazatlan 

San  Diego 

San  Francisco 

Wellington,  N.  Z 

Melbourne,  Australia . 


o  e- 


■so 


Miles. 
17, 500 
19,  500 
20, 000 


]:?,740 
13, 230 


« 


Miles. 
23,  000 
•21,. 500 
22, 000 
12,900 
13,  .500 
14, 300 
IG,  000 
17,800 
18, 000 
18,500 
19, 000 
11,100 
12,720 


«^ 


-3  g^ 
a  (B  o 


Mites. 
13,  400 
10,600 
10, 400 
4,800 
:•,,  500 
2, 800 
2,000 
3, 800 
4,  000 
4,. 500 
5, 000 
8,480  I 
9,890  I 


Oi 


Milts. 
4,100 
8,900 
9,  GOO 


5, 260 
3. 340 


Miles. 

9, 600 
10,900 
11,600 

8,100 
10,000 
11,500 
14,000 
14,000 
14, 000 
14,000 
14,000 

2,  G20 

2,830 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 


29 


Tabic  showing  the  trade  of  the  United  States  that  wouldj  pass  through  the 
isthmus  canal,  if  now  finished ;  taken  from  the  oJjiciaJ  returns  for  the  year 
1857.* 


Countries  traded  with. 


Russian  Nortli  American  possessions . 

Dutch  East  Indies 

British  Australia  and  New  Zealand.. 

British  East  Indies 

French  East  Indies 

Half  of  Mexico 

Half  of  New  Granada 

Central  America 

Ctile 

Peru 

Ecuador 

Sandwich  islands 

China 

Other  ports  in  Asia  and  Pacitic 

Whale  fisheries 


California  to  east  United  Statest . 


Exports  and 
imports. 


$126, 537 

904,550 

4, 728,  083 

11,744,151 

98, 432 

9,601,063 

5, 375, 354 

425, 081 

6,  645,  634 

716, 679 

48, 979 

1,151,849 

752, 062 

80, 143 

796, 090 


V. 


10 

35, 000,  000 


Tonnage. 


$5, 735 
16, 589 
52, 105 

177, 121 

3,665 

34, 673 

131,708 
36,  .599 
63, 749 

193,131 

1,979 

33,  876 

123, 578 
4,549 

116,730 

861,698 


Value  of  cargoes I     100,294,687 

Value  of  ships,  at  $50  per  ton 92, 874, 250 

Total  value  of  ships  and  cargoes 


1,857,485 


193,168,937 


92, 874, 250 


Congi'essional  Reports  on  Commerce  aud  Navigation. 


t  Exclusive  of  gold  dust. 


Whale  ships  and  coasting  vessels  have  been  estimated  generally  throughout 
this  Appendix  at  forty  dollars  ($40)  per  ton.  The  United  States  and  European 
commerce  around  the  capes  is  conducted  in  first-class  ships,  which  often  cost 
eighty  dollars  (880)  per  ton ;  fifty  dollars  ($50)  have  therefore  been  taken  as  the 
fair  average  value  in  the  construction  of  this  table,  which  does  not  include  coast- 
ing trade. 

liable  showing  the  trade  of  England  that  would  pass  through  the  isthmus  canal , 
if  now  finished ;  taken  from  the  official  returns  for  the  year  1856. 


Countries  traded  with. 

Exports  and 
imports. 

Tonnage. 

Half  of  Mexico 

$2,775,137 
1,244,817 
2, 437, 605  • 

15,486,110 

20,473,520 

360,  015 

7, 077,  390 

3,821,410 

4,  364, 070 

78, 246,  095 

520, 560 

2,  378, 105 

Si 1,833 
5  615 

Half  of  Central  America 

Half  of  New  Granada 

10  188 

Chile 

118  311 

Pern 

244, 319 
1  820 

Ecuador 

China )                                                                               ( 

Java ■  >  Outward :  only  40  days  saved  by  canal < 

Singapore .  )                                     "^                                      ( 

Australia  and  New  Zealand 

Sandwich  islands 

68, 530 

16, 003 

16,500 

522, 426 

1  950 

California 

11  800 

• 

Value,  of  trade 

139,184,834 
51,464,750 

1,029,295 

Value  of  ships,  at  $50  per  ton 

Total  value  of  trade  and  shijjs 

190, 649,  584 

51  464  750 

30 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 


Table  slioxcing  the  trade  of  France  that  icould  pass  through  the  isthtnus  canal, 
if  now  finished ;  taken  frovi  the  official  returns  for  the  year  1857. 


Cotintrics  traded  Avith. 


Chile. 
Peru. 


Half  of  Mexico 

Half  of  New  Grauada 

Ecuador 

Bolivia 

California 

^H°v'-^'  ■  ;■  t' '^■ \  Outward  only . 

Dutch  East  Indies...  > 

Sandwich  islands 

Philippine  islands 

Australia 


Value  of  cargoes 

Value  of  ships,  at  $50  per  ton . 


Total  value . 


Exports  and 
imports. 


Tonnajre. 


$10,000,000 

13, 160,  000 

2, 790,  000 

1,090,000 

440, 000 

100, 000 

2, 073, 859 

2, 180, 000 

4,440,000 

2,  000, 000 

1,000,000 

19, 800, 000 


$25,  G88 

35,  09G 

10, 004 

2,389 

1,651 

1,000 

8,997 

2,028 

20, 400 

4,119 

1,463 

50, 000 


59, 073, 859 
8, 136, 750 


67, 210, 609 


162,735 


8,136,750 


Table  showing  the  total  tonnage  that  would  j^ass  yearly  through  the  isthmus 
canal,  if  noio  finished  ;  from  official  returns. 

Tons. 

United  States 1,  857,  485 

England , 1,  029,  295 

France 162,  735 

Other  countries 44,  555 

Total 3,094,070 


Table  showing  the  general  results  of  the  foregoing  tables. 

Tonnage  and  trade  of  United  States $]  93,  168,  937 

Do.                  England 190,649,584 

Do.                 France 67,  210, 609 

Do.                 Other  countries 16,802,000 

Total  trade  affected  by  the  canal 467,  831,  130 


Table  showing  the  saving  in  money  to  the  trade  of  the  United  States  that  would 
result  from  the  use  of  the  isthmus  canal;  according  to  the  official  statistics  for 
the  year  1867. 

Insurance  on  vessels  and  cargoes  saved $3,  863,  37S 

Interest  saved  on  cargoes 3,  008,  840 

Saving  of  wear  and  tear  of  ships,  five  per  cent 4,  643,  712 

Saving  of  freight  money,  (by  time)  ..\ 11,  250,  000 

Saving  of  wages,  provisions,  crew,  &c 13,  230,  000 

'Total  yearly  saving  to  the  United  States 35,  995,  930 


INTEROCEANIC  RAILROADS  AND  CANALS.  31 


Tabic  shoic'utg  the  yearly  saving  in  money  to  tJie  trade  of  England,  as  ascer- 
tained by  the  official  returns  for  1856,  if  the  trade  jiassed  through  the  isthmus 
canal  instead  of  round  the  capes. 

Insuivauce  on  vessels  and  cargoes $1,  906,  495 

Interest  on  cargoes 1,  858,  826 

Saving  of  Avear  and  tear  of  ships . .    2,  573,  237 

Saving  of  wages,  provisions,  &c 3,  611,  790 

Total  yearly  saving  to  England 9,  950,  348 


Table  showing  the  saving  in  money  to  the  trade  of  France  that  would  result  from 
the  use  of  the  isthmus  canal ;  according  to  the  official  statistics  for  the  year 
1857. 

Insurance  on  vessels  and  cargoes $753,  000 

Interest  saved  on  cargoes 452,  084 

Saving  of  wear  and  tear  of  ships 325,  470 

Saving  of  freight  money,  estimated  by  time 276,  949 

Saving  of  wages,  provisions,  and  outfit  of  ships 376,  427 

Total  yearly  saving  to  France 2, 183,  930 


Table  showing  the  saving  to  the  trade  of  the  world  by  usi?ig  the  isthmus  canal. 

United  States $35,  995,  930 

England 9,  950,  348 

France. 2,  183,  930 

Other  countries  * 1,  400,  000 

Total 49,  530,  208 


Exports  of  Great  Britain  increased  one  hundred  and  seven  per  cent,  in  ten 
years.  Exports  of  France  increased  one  hundred  and  thirty  per  cent,  in  ten 
years.  Exports  of  the  United  States  increased  ninety-three  per  cent,  in  ten 
years.  If  the  trade  increases  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  the  next  ten  years,  the 
saving  to  the  world  will  then  be  ninety-nine  millions  sixty  thousand  four  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  dollars  ($99,060,416)  per  annum. 


APi'ENUIX  No.  II. 


Table  showing  the  articles  prejmred  for  the  report  on  interoceanic  communica- 
tion, in  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  of  March 
19,  1866. 

No.  I.  General  map  of  the  American  isthmuses,  shoAving  the  various  lines  pro- 
posed for  interoceanic  communication;  compiled  by  Rear-Admiral  0.  H.  Davis, 
United  States  navy,  Superintendent  United  States  Naval  Observatory;  Julv, 
1866. 


Equated  from  the  trade  of  England,  France,  and  the  United  States. 


32  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

No.  II.  Profiles  of  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  taken  from  surveys  made 
under  the  direction  of  J.  G.  Barnard,  colonel  United  States  engineers,  ISol;  J. 
W.  Williams,  principal  assistant. 

No.  III.  Map  and  vertical  section  of  the  proposed  Honduras  interoceanic 
railway,  located  1S57-'5S;   Squier,  Trautwine,  Jeffers. 

No.  IV.  Map  and  profile  of  the  route  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean  across  the  isthmus  in  the  State  of  Nicaragua, 
Central  America;  surveyed  for  American  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Ship-canal  Com- 
pany by  0.  W.  Childs,  1S50-'51. 

No.  V.  Map  of  the  isthmus  between  Chagres  and  Panama;  by  Chief  Engi- 
neer Napoleon  Garella,  1845. 

No.  VI.  Survey  for  Panama  railroad;  Colonel  G.  W.  Hughes,  1849. 

No.  VII.  Map  and  profile  of  the  route  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  be- 
tween the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  oceans;  A.  McDougal,  chief  engineer;  C.  A. 
Sweet,  J.  E.  Forman,  and  N.  Rude,  assistants;  1564.  (Surveyed  for  Mr.  F,  M. 
Kelly.) 

No.  VIII.  Isthmus  of  Darien ;  map  showing  the  routes  of  Prevost  and  Gis- 
borne;   1854. 

No.  IX.  Map  of  part  of  the  isthmus  of  Darien,  by  Dr.  Cullen;   1853. 

No.  X,  Map  of  an  exploration  for  an  interoceanic  canal  by  way  of  the  rivers 
Atrato  and  San  Juan  in  New  Granada,  South  America;  laid  down  from  obser- 
vations made  by  J.-C.  Trautwine,  civil  engineer;  1852. 

No.  XI.  General  sketch  of  the  surveys  for  an  interoceanic  ship  canal  near  the 
isthmus  of  Darien,  via  the  rivers  Atrato  and  Truando;  Michler,  1858-'59. 

No.  XII.  Interoceanic  ship  canal,  via  the  Atrato  and  Truando  rivers ;  Michler, 
1858-'59. 

No.XIII.  Isthmus  of  Darien  from  77°  20' to  80°  10';  compiled  at  the  United 
States  Naval  Observatory  from  various  authorities,  including  maps  of  1764; 
lS65-'66. 

No.  XIV.  Description  of  the  province  of  Darien,  or  Great  Golden  Castile, 
being  an  explanation  of  the  map  of  the  interior  of  this  province,  and  of  the  new 
discoveries  made  by  the  governor,  Don  Andres  de  Ariza.  Reduced  and  revised 
anew  by  him,  by  order  of  his  excellency  the  viceroy,  Seuor  Don  Manuel 
Antonio  Flores,  in  the  year  1781. 


Appendix  No.  III. 

List  of  the  principal  authorities  relating  to  projects  of  interoceanic  commu- 
nication through  the  American  isthmuses. 

Considerations  on  the  Great  Isthmus  of  Central  America.  Captain  R,  Fitz 
Roy,  royal  navy,  in  Journal  of  Royal  Geographical  Society.  Volumes  xx,  and 
xxiii.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Report  on  Interoceanic  Ship  Canal  from 'San  Juan  del  Nortcto  Brito,  Nica- 
ragua.    0.  W.  Childs  and  J.  D.  Fay.     1852.    (Observatory  library.) 

Report  to  the  Directors  of  the  Honduras  Interoceanic  Railway  Company. 
E,  G.  Squier,  esq.  London,  1858.  Chemin  de  fer  Interocdanique  de  Hondu- 
ras.    Rapport  de  E.  G.  Squier.     Paris,  1855.     (Observatory  library.) 

The  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  being  the  results  of  a  survey  for  a  railroad  to 
connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  made  by  the  scientiiic  commission  un- 
der the  direction  of  Major  J.  G.  Barnard.  J.  J.  Williams,  principal  assistant 
engineer.  New  York,  1852.  (Library  of  Congress;  library  of  State  Depart- 
ment.) 

Central  America.  John  Bailey.  London,  1850.  Memoir  on  the  lake  of 
Granada,  the  river  San  Juan,  and  the  isthmus  between  the  lake  and  the  Pacific 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILED  ADS    AND    CANALS.  33 

ocean,  ia  Nicaragua.  J.  Bailey.  (A  survey  under  the  authority  of  General 
Morazan.     1837-'38.)     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Survey  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  1842-'43,  under  a  scientific  Commission 
appointed  by  the  projector,  Don  Jose  Garay,  1842.  Journal  Royal  Geographi- 
cal Society,  volume  xiv.     London,  1844.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Levellings  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  to  ascertain  the  relative  height  of 
the  Pacific  at  Panama,  and  of  the  Atlantic  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Chagres. 
John  A.  Lloyd,  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  for  1830. 
Supplement  to  the  same  in  Journal  Royal  Geographical  Society.  Volume  i- 
(Observatory  library. ) 

Projet  d'un  Canal  de  jonction  de  I'ocean  Pacifique  et  I'ocean  Atlantique  a 
travers  I'lsthme  de  Panama.  Paris,  1845.  jSTapok'on  Garella.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Rapport  sur  le  projet  de  M.  Garella,  ingcnieuv  en  chef  des  mines.  Annales 
des  Ponts  et  Chaussees  Memoires,  et  Documents.  Volume  13.  (Library  of 
War  Department,  Bureau  of  Engineers.) 

L'Isthme  de  Panama.  Examen  Historique  et  geographique  des  differents 
directions  suivaut  lesquelles  on  pourrait  le  percer,  et  des  moyens  a  y  employer, 
par  M.  Chevalier.  Paris,  1844.  (Library  of  War  Department,  Bureau  of  En- 
gineers.) 

L'Isthme  de  Panama.  Memoire  de  Michel  Chevalier  in  Annales  des  Ponts 
et  Chaussees.  Memoires  et  Documents,  volume  7.  (War  Department,  Bureau 
of  Engineers.) 

Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  communicating  Lieutenent  N.  Michler's  re- 
port of  his  survey  for  an  interoceanic  ship  canal  near  the  isthmus  of  Darien. 
1861.     (Observatory  library.) 

Nicaragua:  The  Proposed  Interoceanic  Canal.  E.  G.  Squier.  New  York, 
1858.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Notes  on  Central  America :  The  Proposed  Honduras  Interoceanic  Railway. 

E.  G.  Squier.     New  York,  1858. 

Memoria  sobre  la  Geografia,  Fisica  y  Politica,  de  la  Nueva  Granada.  Dedi^ 
cada  a  la  Sociedad  Geografica  y  Estadistica  de  Nueva  York,  Por  el  General 
J.  C.  De  Mosquera,  presidente  de  la  Nueva  Granada,  Miembro  Honorario  de  la 
S«ciedad  de  Agronomia  Practica  de  Paris,  &c.,  &c.,  &;c.     New  York,  1852. 

Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central  America.  J.  L.  Stephens.  1852.  (Observatory 
library.) 

The  Junction  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans  by  a  ship  canal  without 
locks,  by  the  valley  of  the  Atrato.    (Pamphlet.)   F.M.Kelly.   New  York,  1856. 

The  union  of  the  oceans  by  ship  canal  without  locks,  via  the  Atrato  valley. 

F.  M.  Kelly.     1S59. 

Explorations  through  the  valley  of  the  Atrato  to  the  Pacific  in  search  of  a 
route  for  a  ship  canal.  F.  M.  Kelly,  New  York,  in  Journal  Royal  Geographi- 
cal Society.     Volume  26.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Rough  notes  of  an  exploration  for  an  interoceanic  canal  by  way  of  the  rivers 
Atrato  and  San  Juan  in  New  Granada,  South  America.  J.  C.  Trautwine,  civil 
engineer.  Philadelphia,  1854.  Also  in  Journal  Franklin  Institute.  Volumes 
1854-'55.     (Smithsonian  library.) 

Notieias  Americanas  entretenimientos  phisico-historicos  sobre  la  *America 
Meridional  y  la  Septentrional  Oriental.  Antonio  de  Ulloa.  Madrid.  1774, 
(Library  of  Congress.) 

Conquista  de  Mexico.  F.  Lopez  de  Gomara.  Madrid.  1852.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Historica  General  de  las  Indias.  F.  L.  Gomara,  Madrid,  1852.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Isthmus  of  Darien  ship  canal,  with  history  of  the  Scotch  colony  of  Darien. 
E,  Cullen.     London,  1853,     (Library  of  the  State  Department.) 
3i  R 


34  INTEROCEANIC    RAILKOADS    AND    CANALS. 

Over  Darien  by  a  Ship  Canal.  A  report  of  the  mismanaged  expedition  of 
1S54,  with  suggestions  for  a  survey.     E.  Cullen,  1856.  ' 

Wilham  Paterson,  the  merchant,  &c.,  by  S.  Bannister;   1858.     Edinburg. 
Central  America,  1701,  with  a  map  from  a  manuscript   in  British  Museum. 
Wm.  Paterson.     Edited  by  S.  Bannister.     London,  1857.     (Library  of  Con- 
gress.) 

Journal  of  the  Expedition  of  Inquiry  for  the  junction  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans.     Lionel  Gisborne.     London,  1853.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Official  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Exploring  Party  under  Commander 
J.  C.  Prevost,  of  her  Majesty's  steamer  Virago,  sent  to  cross  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien.  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol.  xxiv.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Crt)servations  on  the  Territory  of  Burica,  in  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  J.  H.  Smith.  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol. 
xxiv.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

The  new  route  through  Chiriqui ;  Harpers'  Magazine,  January,  1861. 
A  succinct  view  and  analysis  of  information  on  the  practicability  of  joining 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  by  a  ship  canal.     R.  B.  Pitman.     London,  1825. 
(Library  of  Congress.) 

Considerations  sur  les  interets  politiques  et  commerciaux  qui  se  rattachent  a 
risthme  de  Panama.     A.  Denain.     Paris,  1845.     (Library  of  Congress.)  ' 

Writings  of  William  Paterson,  with  a  biographical  introduction,  2  vols.  8vo., 
1858. 

History  of  the  Buccaniers  of  America,  2  vols.,  London,  1741.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Memoirs  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  Sir  John  Dalrymple,  vol.  ii.  (Li- 
brary of  Congress.) 

The  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec ;  Herr  M.  G.  Hermesdorff.  Journal  "f  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol.  xxxii.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Einige  Technische  Nachrichten  von  den  Entwiirfen  zur  verbindung  des  Mit- 
telmeeres  mit  dem  Rothen  meere  bei  Suez  und  des  Atlantischen  meeres  mit 
dem  Stillen  meere  bei  Panama  durch  canale  und  Eisenbahnen.  Berlin,  1846. 
(Admiralty  library.) 

The  practicability  and  Importance  of  a  ship  canal  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  oceans,  with  a  history  of  the  enterprise  from  its  first  inception  to  the 
completion  of  the  survey.  Pamphlet.  New  York,  1855.  (Kennish's  survey.) 
(Admiralty  library.) 

Memoria  Historica  sobre  el  canal  de  Nicaragua.  Guatemala,  1855.  (Admi- 
ralty library.) 

Account  of  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  with  proposals  for  establishing  a 
communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceaps.  Pamphlet.  London. 
1846.     (Admiralty  library.) 

Political  Essay  upon  New  Spain  ;  Alex,  von  Humboldt.  Essai  Politique  sur 
le  Royaume  de  Nouvelle  Espagne ;  Alex,  von  Humboldt.  .  (Library  of  Con- 
gress.) 

Observations  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama ;  Wheelwright,  1843.  Library  of 
Congress.) 

Voyage  around  the  Globe  ;  W.  Dampier.  London,  1729.  (Library  of  Con- 
gress.) 

Encyclopajdia  Britannica,  vols,  ii,  v,  vii,  viii,  xii,  xvi,  xvii.  (Observatory 
library.) 

Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society  for  1854,  for 
interoceanic  communication  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  or  Darien,  by  George 
B.  Watts,     (Observatory  library.) 

Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society  for  1859,  for 
"  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,"  by  J.  McL.  Murphy.     (Observatory  library.) 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  35 

Mittheilungen  aus  Justus  Perthes,  Geographischer  Anstalt ;  Dr.  A.  Peterman  . 
Vols,  for  1861-'62-'63.     (Observatory  library.) 

Voyage  and  Description  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  ;  Lionel  Wafer.  London. 
1699.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Central  America :  Colonel  Don  Juan  Galindo,  corresponding  member  Royal 
Geographical  Society  ;  Journal  of  Society,  vol.  vi.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  relation  to  Central  America. 
1850.     (Observatory  library.) 

Speech  of  Hon.  Edward  Everett.     1853.     (Observatory  library.) 

Speech  of  Hon.  E.  Ward,  of  New  York.  February  15,  1859.  (Observatory 
library.) 

CEuvres  de  Napoleon  III,  vol.  2. 

Pamphlet  on  Nicaragua,  with  initials  L.  N.  B.;  published  in  London,  1847, 
and  reprinted  in  Revue  Britannique  for  1859,  and  M.  Belly's  "  Percements  de 
risliime."     London,  1859. 

Official  despatch  No.  278  from  the  American  minister  at  Berlin,  Mr.  Wheaton, 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  December  17,  1845.  [29th  Cong.,  2d  sess..  Exec, 
"  confidential."]     (Library  of  the  Department  of  State.) 

The  Leader.     (England.)     July  31,  1858. 

Panama,  Nicaragua,  and  Tehuantepec ;  the  Question  of  Communication,  be- 
tween the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  ;  W,  B,  Liot.  London,  1849.  (Library  of  Con- 
gress.) 

Seven  Years'  Travel  in  Central  America,  New  Mexico,  &c. ;  Julius  Froebel. 
London,  1859.      (Library  of  Congress.) 

The  Gate  of  the  Pacific  ;  Commander  Bedford  Pirn,  R.  N.  1863.  (Library 
of  Congress.) 

Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  for  1861-'G2  for  the  Discus- 
sion of  Pirn's  Route.     (Observatory  library.) 

Edinburgh  Review  for  January  1809,  and  vol.  xvi.  (Library  of  the  State 
Department.) 

London  Times,  November  28  and  December  11, 1850,  and  for  February,  1853. 
(Library  of  the  State  Department.)  « 

Colburn's  New  Monthly  Magazine,  July  to  December,  1850. 

Report  of  British  Association  for  1850.     (Observatory  library.) 

Canal  Interoceanique  par  I'lsthme  de  Darien,  Nouvelle  Granada;  (Amerique 
du  Sud;)    Canalization  par  Colonization.     Paris,    1880.     A.  Airiau.     (Astor  ^ 
library.) 

Du  Projet  de  Communication  Interoceanique  par  I'lsthme  de  Darien;  V.  A. 
Malte-Brun.  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  de  Geographie  de  Paris,  1857.  (Library 
of  Congress.) 

Exploration  dans  I'lsthme  de  Darien;  par  M.  Bourdiol,  iugenieur  civil; 
1864.  (Bulletin  de  la  Societii  de  Geographie  de  Paris,  1864.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Report  on  the*  Progress  of  Geographical  Science  for  the  year  1864;  V.  A. 
Malte-Brun.  (Bulletin  de  la  Societe  de  Geographie  de  Paris,  1864.)  Library 
of  Congress.) 

Annales  des  Voyages  for  1857  for  description  of  eighteen  different  routes 
across  the  Isthmus;  by  V.  A.  Malte-Brun.  Ditto,  for  chart  of  New  Granada. 
Vol.  16,  for  1811.     (Astor  library.) 

The  Darien  Papers;  A  Selection  of  Original  Letters  and  Official  Documenis 
relating  to  the  establishment  of  a  colony  at  Darien,  by  the  company  of  Scot- 
land trading  to  Africa  and  the  Indies.    Edinburgh,  1849.    (Library  of  Congress.) 

Canalization  des  Isthmes  de  Suez  et  de  Panama;  par  les  freres  de  la  Oom- 
pagnie  Mj».-itime  de  Saint  Pie,  ordre  Religieux,  Militaire,  et  Industriel,  Paris, 
1848.     (Astor  library.) 

Report  to  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  by  Lieutenant  J.  G.  Strain, 
October  25,  1854. 


36  INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS. 

A  Paper  on  the  History  aud  Prospects  of  Interoceanic  Communications  by 
the  American  Isthmus;  J.  G.  Strain.     New  York.  1S56.     (Astor  library.) 

Panama  in  1855 ;  An  Account  of  the  Panama  Raih'oad,  of  the  Cities  of 
Panama  and  Aspiuwall,  with  sketches  of  Life  on  the  Isthmus.  New  York, 
1855.     (Astor  library.) 

Memoir  of  the  Mexican  Revolution.  W.  Robinson;  1820.  (Library  of 
Congress.) 

Canal  Interoceanico,  1866 ;  Bogota.  Imprenta  de  Gaitau.  (Observatory 
library.) 

Annales  des  Ponts  et  Chaussees;  Planches;  1841  to  1845,  and  1846  to  1850. 
(Library  of  War  Department,  Bureau  of  Engineers.) 

Summary  of  Report  on  survey  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  by  Lionel  Gisborne, 
F.  R.  G.  S.,  in  Journal  Royal  Geographical  Society,  vol.  27.  (Library  of  Con- 
gress.) 

Report  on  European  Tunnels,  by  Charles  S.  Storrow,  A.  M.,  C.  E.,  A.  A.  S. 
(Report  ©f  the  Commissioners  upon  the  Troy  aud  Greenfield  Railroad  and 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  February  28,  1863;  Massachusetts  senate,  No.  93.) 

Seeman's  Voyage  of  her  Majesty's  Ship  Herald,  2  vols.,  1853.  (Observatory 
library.) 

Journal  Society  of  Arts;  London,  January  23,  1857.     (Observatory  library.) 

Harpers' Weekly ;  March  20,  1858.     (Observatory  librar3^) 

The  Bayanos  River,  Isthmus  of  Panama,  by  Laurence  Oliphant,  Secretary 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  in  proceedings  of  Royal  Geographical  Society; 
April  24,  1865.     (Observatory  library.) 

Nicaragua,  Past,  Present,  and  Future,  by  P.  A.  Stout;  Philadelphia,  1859. 
(Library  of  Congress.) 

Explorations  and  Adventures  in  Honduras ;  W.  0.  Wells,  1857.  (Library 
of  Congress.) 

Jefferson's  Works.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  New  Granada;   1848. 

Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty ;   1850. 
^     Report  of  Colonel  G.  W.  Hughes  ;  Survey  of  Panama  Railroad  ;   1849. 

Report  of  a  Survey  for  a  Railroad  through  the  Province  of  Chiriqui ;  Com- 
modore Frederick  Engle,  U.  S.  N. ;  Assistants,  Lieutenant  Wm.  N.  Jefters, 
TJ.  S.  N.,  hydrographic  engineer ;  Lieutenant  J.  St.  Clair  Morton,  U.  S.  Eng., 
topographical  engineer ;  Dr.  Evans,  Geologist.  (New  York  Herald,  December 
8,  1860.) 

Notes  of  an  Excursion  to  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  R.  Dale.  London, 
1851.     (Library  of  Congress  ) 

Travels  in  the  Free  States  of  Central  America.  Carl  Scherzer,  London, 
1857.     (Library  of  Congress.) 

La  Prossima  Comunicazioue  di  tutt  'i  Popoli  Delia  Terra,  (avec  carte.) 
Memoria  Statistico  Geografica,  del  Cav.  Ferd.  de  Luca. 

Notice  sur  le  Golfe  Dulce  dans  I'Etat  de  Costa  Rica,  (Ameyique  Centrale,) 
et  sur  un  Nouveau  Passage  entre  les  deux  Oceans,  avec  une  carte,  par  M. 
Gabriel  Lafond  de  Lurcy,  Consul  General,  Charge  d'Affaires  de  Costa  Rica  en 
France.     Paris,  1856. 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama.    By  Charles  Tolwell  Bidwell,  F.  ll.  G.  S.,  British. 

Canal  Interoceanique  du  Darien  Amdrique.  Notice  historique  et  gdograph- 
iique  sur  I'etat  de  la  question  du  canal  du  Darien,  par  M.  V.  A.  Malte-Brun. 
Paris,  1866. 

Annales  de  la  Suciete  de  Geographic  for  1865  and  1866. 

La  question  du  percement  de  I'lsthme  de  Panama,  devant  un  congres  In- 
ternationale, par  H.  Bionne.     Paris,  1866.  , 

Illustrated  History  of  the  Panama  Railroad,  F.  N.  Otis,  M.  D.  New  York, 
1862. 


INTEROCEANIC    RAILROADS    AND    CANALS.  37 

Notes  sur  le  fleuve  du  Darien  et  sur  la  configuration  du  Sol  au  point  de  vue 
du  tracd  d'uu  canal  iuteroceanique  entre  le  Rio  Grande  du  Darien  et  I'Atrato, 
par  M.  Jules  Flachat,  1  broch.,  en  8  vo.  de  48  pages  et  2  planches.  Paris 
J  866. 

Report  by  Hon.  C.  Fenton  Mercer,  chairman  Committee  oil  Roads  and  Canals, 
on  the  memorial  of  Aaron  Clark,  mayor  of  New  York,  H.  Le  Roy,  W.  Rad- 
cliff,  and  other  merchants  of  Nev*-  York,  and  Mathew  Carey,  of  Philadelphia, 
praying  aid  of  the  United  States  in  procuring  the  construction  of  a  canal  across 
the  isthmus  between  North  and  South  America.  Executive  Documents,  twen- 
ty-fifth Congress,  third  session,  House  of  Representatives. 

Interoceanic  Railroad  through  the  Republic  of  Costa  Rica,  by  F.  Kurtze,  C. 
E.,  Director  general  of  public  works,  New  York,  Gray  &  Green,  1866. 

Eine  Reise  in  das  Innere  der  Landenge  von  San  Bias,  und  der  Cordillere  von 
Chepo  in  der  Provinz  Panama.  Von  Dr.  Moriz  Wagner,  Mittheilungen  aus 
Justus  Perthes'  Geographischer  Anstalt,  1862. 

See,  also,  the  authorities  cited  by  Admiral  Fitz  Roy,  in  Journal  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  vol.  xx,  which  are  not  given  in  the  preceding  list,  viz: 
Admiralty  Hydrographic  Office ;  Alcedo  ;  Burney ;  Cochrane ;  Coutin  ;  Ed- 
wards ;  Palmare ;  Galindo  ;  Guzman ;  Hamilton  ;  Hughes  ;  Jeffreys ;  Juan  ; 
Lawrence ;    McQueen :   Mollien ;   O'Leary ;   Purdy  ;   Scarlett ;   Watts  ;   Wood. 


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